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Health Care for America Now Rally Draws 500 Supporters

On April 9, 2009, CIR members joined hundreds of health care reform activists at “Salsa to Save Lives,” a rally and dance party at Tiguex Park in Albuquerque. The event was sponsored by Health Care for America NOW! (HCAN), a coalition of small businesses, labor unions, women’s groups, doctors, nurses, small businesses, and faith-based organizations.

CIR Speaks Out on Budget’s Health Care Reserve Fund

In late March, CIR joined leading environmental, community and faith organizations in a press teleconference, calling on Congress to support the White House’s budget, which includes a $634 billion health care reserve fund as a “down payment” on the goal of establishing quality, affordable health care for all.

Patient Care Funds Support Innovative Projects

Through Patient Care Funds, CIR members have a chance to create and fund programs based on needs they identify in their hospital and their communities. Residents in Los Angeles originated the idea when they negotiated for dedicated funding to cover patients’ needs into their contract starting in 1975. Since then, housestaff around the country have followed suit, using their voice as a union to advocate not just for better compensation and working conditions, but for better care for their patients.

CIR Doctors Hold Community Clinic on MLK Day

New Mexico CIR members answered President-elect Obama’s call to service on Martin Luther King Weekend by organizing a volunteer clinic at an Albuquerque community center.

Dr. Sheila Modi, a PGY 2 in Internal Medicine, Dr. Noah Zuker, a PGY 3 in Surgery, and Dr. Elizabeth Burpee, CIR Secretary-Treasurer, were joined by an attending physician, a CIR staff member and a community volunteer as they treated uninsured patients on Martin Luther King Day, January 19.

CIR Leaders Spend Time with Lt. Governor Denish

CIR members had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with New Mexico Lt. Governor Diane Denish both at a roundtable breakfast discussion in December and at her Inaugural Breakfast in Santa Fe this January. The meetings further cemented CIR’s strong relationship with Lt. Governor Denish, who was supportive during the organizing of the chapter as well as through the bargaining of the first contract with UNM. At the breakfast discussion in December, CIR doctors joined leaders from AFSCME and AFT, and other non-profit organizations. The talks focused on health care reform at the state level in the upcoming legislative session, as well as issues affecting residents and patients locally.

CIR Delivers Holiday Cards to Members of Congress

In December, CIR doctors in New Mexico and other states made sure their elected officials would be thinking about health care reform as they ushered in the New Year. In visits to the legislators’ offices, they presented giant holiday cards calling for “hope and change in 2009”.

CIR Doctor Blogs About Work Hours on the Huffington Post

CIR doctor and Regional Vice President for New Mexico, John Ingle, MD recently wrote about criticisms of the recent Institute of Medicine's report on residency work hours and safety on The Huffington Post under the headline, "Resident Work Hours: Standing Up for Patient Safety is Not 'Whining'":

As a surgeon -- specifically a third-year resident physician in Otolaryngology in New Mexico -- I've been deeply disappointed at some of the reactions to the Institute of Medicine's much-anticipated report Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep, Supervision, and Safety. The report has been hailed as long overdue by those who have studied the effects of lack of sleep on human performance and hospital safety, and howled at by critics who wish to preserve the status quo in the way we train our nation's doctors.

>> Read the whole blog post on The Huffington Post

Preparing for the Year to Come in New Mexico

New Mexico, dubbed “The Land of Enchantment,” was the backdrop for CIR’s Western Regional Meeting on November 8, 2008. CIR doctors from the Northern California, Southern California and New Mexico regions gathered at the Albuqeruque Hotel in Albuqerque for a full-day’s worth of activities, incorporating workshops, presentations, training, planning for the year ahead and, of course, networking and socializing with their fellow members.

CIR Backs UNM Hospital

In New Mexico, CIR members helped out with a campaign to pass the Mil Levy, a voter bond measure to continue funding for the University of New Mexico Hospital, the only Level 1 Trauma Center in New Mexico. It is also New Mexico’s only teaching hospital, and has its only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Unit.

New Mexico's First Housestaff Appreciation Day

To the strains of live country, western and mariachi music,more than 130 interns, residents, and fellows at the University of New Mexico Hospital enjoyed a beautiful clear day, a feast of enchiladas, rice and beans, and some very targeted stress reduction, as a thank-you for the hard work, skills, compassion and dedication that resident physicians show every day on the job.

The event was the first-ever Housestaff Appreciation Day, held on October 17, 2008, and organized by CIR UNM, along with the Khatali Physician Alumni Association and the UNM Resident Council.

CIR’s Western Members Are Going Green!

CIR’s environmentally-conscious physicians in our Wesern region are “going green” to create a healthier, more sustainable environment.

Bringing Healthcare Reform to Our Nation's Top Political Conventions

As the United States counts down to an historic election this fall, the debate about healthcare reform in this country has taken on a sense of urgency for both political parties. Never has the voice of frontline providers of care been more critical in the national debate on healthcare reform. In recognition of this, CIR doctors were among the participants at SEIU events at both the Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO and the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN.

CIR Doctors Welcome SEIU “Road to American Health Care” Bus to New Mexico

SEIU’s “Road to American Health Care” bus tour is traveling across the country on its way to the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, stopping in communities large and small to highlight the real people who are being hurt by the health care crisis. On Thursday, July 24, 2008, it arrived in New Mexico -- home to the UNM Medical Center -- and picked up a couple of CIR leaders who are making the issue a top priority.

CIR Residents Win Another Wage Increase at UNM

On April 23, 2008, the CIR Negotiating Team successfully concluded its 2008 Salary Re-Opener negotiations with UNM.

Senate Candidate Rep. Tom Udall "Walks A Day In the Shoes" of CIR Doctor

On April 4, 2008, as part of SEIU’s program to ensure that candidates running for political office experience firsthand what life is like for working people, U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Tom Udall walked a day in the shoes of Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU member Dr. Elizabeth Burpee, a resident at the University of New Mexico Hospital.

Charting the Year Ahead

On November 3rd, 2007, the three chapters that make up CIR’s Western Region -- New Mexico, Southern, and Northern California -- came together to meet, share news, and make plans for how to accomplish their goals in the year ahead.

Residents in New Mexico Ratify First Contract

On August 15, 2007, resident physicians at the University of New Mexico Hospital voted by an overwhelming margin to ratify their first union contract. There are 550 interns, residents and fellows, in 17 different specialties at the hospital.

CIR Members Meet with Gov. Richardson in New Mexico

Drs. Elizabeth Burpee, PGY 2, Internal Medicine, and John Ingle, PGY 1, Otolaryngology, from the University of New Mexico Hospital met with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson on May 2, 2007 to discuss his proposals for expanding health coverage so that every American is insured.

Housestaff at the University of New Mexico Vote to Join CIR

Nearly 500 interns, residents and fellows at the University of New Mexico overwhelmingly voted to join together for a stronger voice in the delivery of patient care at their hospital. Residents voted 222-99 to form a union through the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU.