July 21, 2004

By Andrew Maccabe

The Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) strives to build diversity in the health professions by providing grants to eligible institutions to recruit and retain students from health disparity populations.  Until now, veterinary medical colleges have been eligible for HCOP grants, but S.2091, "Closing the Health Care Gap Act of 2004," will exclude veterinary medicine from the ten types of health professions schools that can get these grants.  We have contacted those deans with senators who are on the Senate HELP Committee to ask that S.2091 be amended to include veterinary medical colleges in this important program.  For more information, view AAVMC's letter to Senator Bill Frist and talking paper.