Ridgeland, Miss. (Wednesday, September 28, 2011) – The Mississippi Medical Political Action Committee (MMPAC) endorsed District 22 Sen. Buck Clarke at a press conference Tuesday at Delta Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic in Cleveland.
During the announcement, local family physician Scott Nelson, MD, thanked Sen. Clarke for his unwavering support for Mississippi physicians and their patients. “Throughout his tenure in the Mississippi Senate, Sen. Clarke has been attentive and responsive to every legislative policy concerning not only healthcare issues but also the impact of those issues on our community’s job market and rural economy,” said Dr. Nelson. “We appreciate Sen. Clarke’s dedication to the healthcare issues facing our patients, and we appreciate his dedication to the Delta,” he continued.
Sen. Clarke thanked physicians for their support and furthered commented that pro-medicine policies like tort reform are not only healthcare issues but “quality of life and economic issues” as well. Physicians impact healthcare in their local communities but also provide a boon to their local economies to the tune of nearly 25,000 jobs and $3 billion in direct and indirect wages across the state.
Also present at the event was Delta Ob-Gyn patient and Cleveland resident Jill Mahaffey with her two children. In the early 2000s when she was three weeks from the due date of her first child, Mahaffey was informed by her physician, Dr. Bradley Baugh, that he could no longer provide pre-natal care as his insurance company dictated in the midst of skyrocketing medical malpractice rates. “It was terrifying as a first-time mom,” Mahaffey said of the experience. “There I was just… left. I had no one to turn to.” The lack of tort reform threatened access to care across Mississippi and especially in the Delta region. However, with the help of pro-patient legislators like Sen. Buck Clarke, landmark tort reform came to fruition in Mississippi and has allowed the physicians of Delta Ob-Gyn and other practices throughout the region to keep their doors open to provide quality care to Delta patients.
Clarke, a Hollandale native, represents Bolivar, Humphreys, Sharkey, Washington, and Yazoo counties. For more information on the Mississippi Medical Political Action Committee and the patient-friendly candidates endorsed by the organization, visit www.MMPAConline.com
From the Sen. Buck Clarke Campaign
Magnolia Tribune
