A house RESOLUTION

 

TO CELEBRATE THE ONE HUNDRED FIFTIETH YEAR OF THE FOUNDING OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE AND TO DECLARE MARCH 12, 2025, AS "OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE DAY" IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

 

Whereas, the osteopathic medical profession is celebrating the one hundred fiftieth year of the development of what is now osteopathic medicine in the United States; and

 

Whereas, osteopathic medicine originated in the studies of Andrew Taylor Still, an American doctor of osteopathic medicine, physician, and surgeon; and

 

Whereas, during the past three decades the number of doctors of osteopathic medicine in the United States has more than quadrupled, increasing by 70% in the past ten years; and

 

Whereas, South Carolina has rapidly grown its numbers of osteopathic physicians, reaching 12% of licensed physicians and residents-in-training in the State; and

 

Whereas, colleges of osteopathic medicine make up 21% of our nation's medical schools, students of osteopathic medicine make up 28% of our nation's medical students, and doctors of osteopathic medicine make up 15% of our nation's physicians; and

 

Whereas, osteopathic physicians have made tremendous contributions in leadership, research, and patient care in the United States, including treating United States presidents; serving as flag officers in the United States military, Coast Guard, and Public Health Service; and conducting research at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Institutes of Health; and

 

Whereas, osteopathic physicians have a strong tradition of caring for patients in rural and underserved communities in all parts of the country, with a strong presence in the primary care specialties; and

 

Whereas, osteopathic physicians are proportionately overrepresented in the United States military, making up 43% of the current number of physicians in the Air Force and 44% of all Health Professions Scholarship Program medical students; and

 

Whereas, osteopathic physicians are trained to help patients heal from within -- in body, mind, and spirit -- through employing a hands-on, patient-centered approach that includes the distinctive use of osteopathic manipulative medicine, when indicated, to diagnose and treat conditions, preserve good health, and prevent the spread of disease; and

 

Whereas, the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine -- Carolinas Campus in Spartanburg, the state's only permanent four-year osteopathic medical school, is committed to training globally minded, community-focused physicians to practice in the rural and underserved areas of the State and nation; and

 

Whereas, the A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine has an Affiliated Health Center Training Site in Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties. There, students are prepared to practice in the rural and underserved areas of South Carolina and the nation; and

 

Whereas, South Carolinians recognize the need for osteopathic physicians who are committed to improving the health of all Americans through practice in primary care specialties and those additional specialties most needed in rural and underserved areas. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

 

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, celebrate the one hundred fiftieth year of the founding of osteopathic medicine and declare March 12, 2025, as "Osteopathic Medicine Day" in South Carolina.

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