Nearly 100 doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals gathered Friday in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in support of quality, affordable health care for all.

Two hundred and thirty-two years ago, our nation's leaders came together in this same spot to affirm certain inalienable rights: the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

These days, though, far too many Americans are denied their pursuit of happiness, grappling with a health care system that obstructs the vision outlined in the Declaration of Independence.

Watch Dr. L. Toni Lewis, resident physicians from the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare and other health care professionals explain why they're rallying for health care reform in Philadelphia this weekend.

All over America this April, thousands are mobilizing their members of Congress to pass quality, affordable healthcare for all in 2009. Members of the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare (CIR) have been participating in in-district health care reform events during the Congressional spring recess. Several events took place over the past week in New Jersey, New York and New Mexico.

On Tuesday, small business owners, workers, consumers and leaders in the movement to fix health care packed the room at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Montclair, NJ for a town hall meeting. Attendees shared personal stories of the struggles they face in obtaining good quality, affordable health insurance for themselves, their families and in some cases, their employees. CIR Regional Vice President Dr. Snehal Bhatt and Dr. Michael Nagar, a pathology resident at Robert Wood Johnson, represented CIR at the forum. Other attendees included Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on Health, and SEIU New Jersey State Council Director David McCann. Photos of the event here.

In New York, members of the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare (CIR), 1199SEIU and SEIU Local 32BJ joined more than 20 other local and national organizations to discuss healthcare reform with Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) at a roundtable and press conference on April 13. During the discussion moderated by L. Toni Lewis, M.D., CIR Director, the Senator agreed to support an affordable public health insurance option with comprehensive benefits, access for all including immigrants, and which adopts the House budget reconciliation process to achieve goals in spending.

Read more about the event. Photos here.

In New Mexico on April 9, CIR helped organize a 500-person rally and dance party in support of health care reform at Albuquerque's Tiguex Park. CIR National President Dr. Toni Lewis and Secretary-Treasurer Dr. Elizabeth Burpee both spoke at the event, "Salsa to Save Lives," emphasizing the need for health care reform from a doctor's perspective, healthcare disparities, and the public insurance option. Legislative staff representing the voices of four of the five members of the New Mexico congressional delegation--Sens. Bingman, Udall, and Reps. Heinrich and Lujan--also spoke at the event. Rally participants called members of Congress on their cell phones to support the public option and health care reform.

Residency is filled with long hours, a lot of work, but it can also be full of surprises, meaningful downtime with colleagues and quirky stories. A picture is worth a thousand words, so CIR/SEIU Healthcare decided to hold their first-ever photo contest, asking for photos submissions taken by members representing what it's like to be a resident physician on any given day.

Photos were judged by a team that included CIR editorial staff, resident physicians, and professional photographers. Check out the winning submissions here.

"CIR Department Reps Welcome the New Skeleton"
1st place, Dr. Jared Toman of Boston Medical Center

The story behind the picture: "We were able to purchase this fantastic skeleton for the 25 residents in our department thanks to the generosity of the educational materials allowance provided by the CIR. The pictures residents are our departmental CIR reps, Adam Rana (taller left) and myself (shorter right). I hope this photo fits in with the lighter-hearted tone, but also helps demonstrate the real results that the CIR has on the everyday life of resident staff, especially at Boston Medical Center."

"Hanging Out in the Call Room"
2nd place, Dr. Sandra Mesliniene of St. Luke's Roosevelt

"Samurai Sword in Trauma"
3rd place, Dr. Wendy Ruggeri of Lincoln Medical Center

The story behind the picture: "A trauma night at Lincoln: A male patient came in stating he was sleeping with his sword and accidentally got it into his neck. The tip of the sword was inserted in a vertical plane, but did not violate the platysma. The patient made it without complications."

Congratulations to CIR's photo contest winners! Check out CIR's Flickr account for more shots of the residents in action at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cirseiu/

Special thanks to Tim Foley, CIR's New Media Director, for providing us with this information and winning photos.

Beginning this week, SEIU health care professionals, leaders and members will hold discussions with the Obama transition team about making comprehensive, affordable health care a reality for everyone in America. "Take the momentum of the win from election and actually turn it into change that works," said Dr. L. Toni Lewis, President of SEIU's Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR).

Submit your information and ideas directly to the transition team or sign up to host your own health care reform discussions.

Physicians Seek to Save Their Programs, Hospital from Closure

Last week, interns and residents at Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Brooklyn, NY unanimously voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) of SEIU Healthcare, coming together to have a voice at their hospital and on behalf of their patients.

Despite being a well-regarded and essential community hospital, the Manhattan-based management of Brooklyn's Long Island College Hospital (LICH) is in the process of planning to close down multiple programs and sell off some of the hospital's buildings:

"I was part of a CIR union chapter in Miami, and it definitely makes a difference," said Dr. Lilliam Villafredez, a resident in Internal Medicine. "It's our right as residents to have a voice."

CIR will continue to work with and win union representation for the remaining 90 residents, who are paid by LICH but work at other hospitals. Resident physicians at LICH, together with CIR will continue to work with the community to ensure that vital programs like maternity and pediatric care remain open.

SEIU Healthcare members understand that long hours and little sleep are a dangerous fact of life for RNs and physicians alike. For years, we've worked to shine a light on the dangers of long hours to patient care and to the well-being of health care workers. We've won some major victories, too. Just this summer, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania nurses scored an important win for patient care, when Gov. Rendell signed into law a bill restricting the practice of mandatory overtime for RNs in Pennsylvania hospitals.

A recent study by the Institute for Medicine (IOM) is a welcome addition to the advocacy work being done by CIR/SEIU Healthcare members to limit extended shifts for residents. You can find more about CIR/SEIU Healthcare's response here: www.cirseiu.org/policy/iomreport

Being fatigued on the job leads to impaired performance and deterioration of skills. No other profession is routinely scheduled to work 30-hour stretches; and no other profession has such a direct impact on peoples' health and well-being. That's why I'm encouraged by the IOM study's evidence supporting a more reasonable 16-hour limit. While it's not as strong a commitment to limiting extended shifts as we had hoped, it's an important addition to the growing chorus surrounding this health care issue.

With an estimated 98,000 patient deaths a year due to medical errors, anything that can be done to bring that number down should be done.  And, as the nation gears up for a critical overhaul of our broken health care system, now is the time to enact these changes.

If you'd like to get involved in SEIU's health care reform efforts, you can start by adding your name to our health care map: http://action.seiu.org/healthcaremap/

A Serious New Report on the Issue of Resident Work Hours by the Institute of Medicine

In response to the Institute of Medicine report, "Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep, Supervision, and Safety," SEIU's Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) released a statement yesterday calling for stronger limits on extended resident work.

CIR welcomed IOM's report on resident work hours, but took the occasion to also call for stronger limits on extended shifts."No other profession is scheduled to work 30 hours at a stretch," said CIR President L. Toni Lewis, MD. "Scheduling resident physicians so that we are well-rested is an important element in improving our healthcare system." 

Read the full statement. and the press coverage by the LA Times and Crain's.

>> Learn more by reading the CIR Work Hours Reform Fact Sheet