September 2015

This week, ATS PA members from the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine at Pennsylvania State University at Hershey held the ATS's first-ever meeting with Congressman Charlie Dent (R-PA) in his Hershey, PA office. The ATS PA delegation had an extensive and very engaging discussion with the Congressman on innovative research across a wide range of lung diseases at Penn State including COPD, asthma, cystic fibrosis, flu, pulmonary fibrosis and sleep disorders. Congressman Dent is a key member of the House Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations subcommittee which allocates House funding for the NIH and CDC.

The ATS PA members also discussed the health effects of e-cigarettes, including potential addiction risks to children and adolescents and called for more research in this area. Congressman Dent was very interested in e-cigarettes, lung disease prevalence and research and expressed strong support for both the NIH and CDC budgets. The ATS PA delegation included Randy Young, M.D., Director, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Herbert Reynolds, M.D., M.D., Zissis Chroneos, M.D., Gavin Graff, M.D., Lauren Van Scoy, M.D., and ATS DC office staff Nuala Moore. The PA meeting was part of an ongoing series of in-state Breathing Better Alliance member meetings with legislators.