AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, and Chief Public Policy Officer Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHSA, MPP, issued the following statement regarding firings at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):
“There is much work to be done to improve our approach to health in this country, and the AAMC is devoted to collaborating with individuals and organizations in the public, private, and non-profit sectors to further these critical efforts. We were deeply dismayed to hear reports of broad and, what appear to be, arbitrary firings across many federal agencies and offices directly related to and responsible for the public’s health.
In his new role, Secretary Kennedy assumes the responsibility for a department that has a mission to 'enhance the health and well-being of all Americans.' As a first step, we urge him to reconsider these firings so we can leverage the expertise and experience of these trusted, skilled, dedicated civil servants and work with them to improve the health of the nation.
We value the contributions of our federal partners in fulfilling our mission to improve the health of people everywhere. Without the expertise of these public servants, the health of the public and future scientific progress will be in serious jeopardy. We stand ready, as we have for every presidential administration, to work shoulder-to-shoulder with Secretary Kennedy and other leaders in HHS toward the goal of advancing the nation’s health.”