Copyright 2000 The Kansas City Star Co.
THE KANSAS
CITY STAR
December 19, 2000, Tuesday METROPOLITAN
EDITION
SECTION: METRO; Pg. B1
LENGTH: 347 words
HEADLINE:
Children's Mercy to get more for doctor training
BYLINE: LAUREN BRANDENBURG; The Kansas City Star
BODY:
Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City is
expected to receive
about $5.7 million in federal funding
next year to help train
doctors, according to U.S. Sen. Kit Bond.
Congress passed a bill Friday to increase graduate medical
education funding at children's hospitals. President Clinton is
expected to sign the bill by Thursday, said Ernie Blazar, a Bond
spokesman. Bond is a Republican from Missouri. Thomas McCormally, spokesman
for Children's Mercy, said Monday
that the hospital did not know exactly how
much more money it would
receive.
"We know we're going to receive
more money, but there's a new
national distribution formula," McCormally
said.
The nationwide increase - $235 million this year
compared with
last year's $40 million - does not
necessarily mean Children's Mercy
would get five to six times what it
received last year, he said.
But if the amount projected by Bond's
office is correct, the
hospital would see nearly a six-fold increase over
last year's
$970,000.
McCormally said the
additional funds would free up money in the
hospital's budget for other
uses. Children's Mercy has about 75
residents and 20 fellows in its
pediatric training programs each
year.
Blazar said Bond worked to
increase funding for children's
hospitals so they would be at the same level
as other teaching
hospitals, which receive more money from Medicare.
The hospital's president and board members made several trips to
Washington, McCormally said. Randall O'Donnell, the hospital's
president, was among those spearheading efforts to pass the bill.
St. Louis Children's Hospital is expected to receive
$6.1
million, bringing Missouri's total from the
legislation close to $12
million.
"This is the
second year of some funding and it has gone up,"
McCormally said. "We're
very happy about that. We hope that over
time we'll get more money to train
the next generation of doctors."
To reach Lauren Brandenburg, call (816)
234-4899 or send e-mail
to lbrandenburg@kansascity.com
LOAD-DATE: December 19, 2000 
