June 2004

American Academy of Neurology

Neurologists go to Washington

2nd Annual Neurology on the Hill Day

St. Paul, Minn. (June 14, 2004) – June 8 and 9 marked the second annual Neurology on the Hill Day as a group of 53 neurologists traveled to Washington, D.C. to put a face on neurological issues with more than 100 members of Congress.

Sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), Neurology on the Hill Day empowers neurologists to advocate on behalf of their patients for sensible healthcare reforms at the national level.

On Capitol Hill, the participants asked that their legislators support medical liability reform, the STOP Stroke Act, changes in prescription drug formulary policies and the Medicare physician payment formula, and the completion of the Porter Neuroscience Research Center at the National Institutes of Health.

The AAN neurologists, from 29 states, met with 112 members of Congress. This is nearly double the efforts of Neurology on the Hill Day in 2003, when the AAN sent 30 neurologists from 16 states who visited 69 members of Congress.

"Creating legislative policy is often an abstract and calculated process, where the true impact of new laws and regulations gets lost," said Mark S. Yerby, MD, MPH, who chairs the AAN Legislative Affairs Committee. "This event is an opportunity to remind our elected officials in Washington that their decisions have a tremendous effect – good or bad – on the lives of people with neurological disorders and the doctors who are dedicated to treating them."

The 53 participating neurologists are listed by state at the end. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology and Neurology on the Hill, visit www.aan.com/advocacy.

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 18,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.

Editor's Note: The 53 neurologists who attended Neurology on the Hill Day are the following (alphabetical by state):
Thomas Clark, MD, Bullhead City, Ariz.
Ignacio Carrillo-Nunez, MD, Irvine, Calif.
Jennifer Hopp, MD, Los Angeles, Calif.
Rosabel Young, MD, Culver City, Calif.
Peter Chin, MD, Los Angeles, Calif.
A. Jim Nagy, MD, New Haven, Conn.
Mircea Morariu, MD, Boynton Beach, Fla.
Benjamin Barnea, MD, Coral Springs, Fla.
Hal Pineless, DO, Longwood, Fla.
Mark Werner, MD, Gainesville, Fla.
Maria Wiscovitch, MD, Tampa, Fla.
Erich Garland, MD, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Nicholas Schlageter, MD, Geneva, Ill.
Sandra Olson, MD, Chicago, Ill.
Michael Wasserman, MD, Niles, Ill.
Thomas Vidic, MD, Elkhart, Ind.
Michael Sermersheim, MD, Lafayette, Ind.
John Wright, MD, Bettendorf, Iowa
Kore Liow, MD, Wichita, Kan.
Francis Kittredge, Jr., MD, Bangor, Maine
Bhagwan Moorjani, MD, Laurel, Md.
Bennett Lavenstein, MD, Chevy Chase, Md.
Wendy Wright, MD, Baltimore, Md.
David Heydrick, MD, Ellicott City, Md.
Susan McDermott, MD, Silver Spring, Md.
Michael Morris, MD, Rockville, Md.
Linda Buchwald, MD, Cambridge, Mass.
Walter Koroshetz, MD, Milton, Mass.
Steven Newman, MD, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Roger Morrell, MD, Lathrup Villiage, Mich.
Kenneth Mack, MD, PhD, Rochester, Minn.
John Gates, MD, St. Paul, Minn.
Christopher Janson, MD, Camden, N.J.
Glenn Graham, MD, PhD, Albuquerque, N.M.
J. Lucas Koberda, MD, PhD, Potsdam, N.Y.
O'Neill D'Cruz, MD, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Heidi Moawad, MD, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Edward Westbrook, MD, Bratenahl, Ohio
Luis Reina, MD, Lawton, Okla.
Mark Yerby, MD, Portland, Ore.
Elaine Jones, MD, Providence, R.I.
Amie Peterson, MD, Providence, R.I.
Kenneth Gaines, MD, Nashville, Tenn.
David Charles, MD, Nashville, Tenn.
Jose Cavazos, MD, PhD, San Antonio, Texas
Liana Dawson, MD, Longview, Texas
Sara Austin, MD, Austin, Texas
William Gilmer, MD, Houston, Texas
Daniel Larriviere, MD, Charlottesville, Va.
Robert Shapiro, MD, PhD, Burlington, Vt.
Anna Hohler, MD, Steilacoom, Wash.
Lily Jung, MD, Seattle, Wash.
Balaji Vishwanat, MD, Onalaska, Wis.