Following a visit to UM’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center last year, State Senator Ted Deutch said he had a chance to witness the contribution the cancer center makes to South Floridians, including his constituents, many of whom are treated at the center’s Deerfield Beach facility. He called Sylvester an “institution that deserves to be widely recognized and praised for the work being done here.”
 |
| From left, W. Jarrard Goodwin, M.D., Joan Scheiner, president of the Sylvester Board of Governors, Senator Ted Deutch, and Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., on the occasion of the state senator being honored. |
Deutch has become a powerful new ally in the fight against cancer. His efforts will help Sylvester attract millions of additional dollars through state-funded competitive cancer research grants for years to come.
In recognition of his commitment to health care, Sylvester presented Deutch with an inscribed glass award honoring him for his leadership and advocacy as a “true legislative champion.” W. Jarrard Goodwin, M.D., director of Sylvester, called Deutch a “hero in the community” when he made the presentation on June 10 during a Sylvester Board of Governors meeting.
During this year’s legislative session, Deutch sponsored legislation calling for an additional $1-per-pack surcharge on all cigarettes. The measure, titled “Protecting Florida’s Health Act,” passed the Senate unanimously, but the House and the governor were a much tougher sell. Over several nerve-wracking weeks, Deutch worked tirelessly to get the needed votes in Tallahassee, even taking another bold step. The South Florida legislator worked to have the money raised from the tobacco tax allocated to cancer research. It seemed a logical step—tobacco-related illnesses cost the state’s Medicaid system $1.3 billion, while only $430 million is collected from tobacco users.
In April Deutch took the lead at a news conference in Tallahassee aimed at highlighting the importance of passing the tobacco surcharge for cancer research. Goodwin led the charge for Sylvester at that event, making an impassioned argument for the lives that could be saved with the allocation. Perhaps the most compelling statement came from a Sylvester patient, Karen DeGray, who traveled to the state capital to relate how research conducted at the Miller School saved her life.
Deutch’s relentless efforts prevailed, and the $1 increase of the tobacco tax passed the House in the waning hours of the legislative session, with Governor Charlie Crist signing the measure. As part of the package, $50 million of the tobacco funds will go toward cancer research at the William G. “Bill” Bankhead Jr. and David Coley Cancer Research Program and the James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program. Traditionally, those state programs have received roughly a combined $19 million in funding each year, with Sylvester getting about one-third of that amount. Because of Senator Deutch’s efforts in Tallahassee, which have more than doubled support of those programs, more funding will be allocated to Sylvester’s breakthrough research and clinical trials.
“Passing this measure showed the nation that Florida is serious in the fight against cancer. We recognize your leadership in making this happen,” said Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., as he presented the senator with a letter praising his efforts. The letter was signed by the deans of all of Florida’s medical schools and copied to Crist.
Deutch, in response, said the doctors on the front lines are the true heroes. “I appreciate you letting me into the family to fight this together,” he said.
|
 |
|
