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News Release

HHS SECRETARY TOMMY G. THOMPSON ANNOUNCES $1 MILLION GRANT
AS PART OF PARTNERSHIP WITH NATIONAL HEALTH MUSEUM

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced a $1 million grant as part of a newly created public-private partnership with the National Health Museum.

"The National Health Museum will help give Americans the tools they need to learn more about their health," Secretary Thompson said. "By knowing and understanding more about human health, everyone can take a more active role in promoting their own health. Educational resources like this museum can play a valuable role in improving our knowledge on ways to live longer, healthier lives."

The funding will come in equal parts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the National Institutes of Health.

"We are very pleased that Secretary Thompson and the Department of Health and Human Services recognize the role the National Health Museum will play in helping Americans live healthier lives," said Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., chairman, National Health Museum. "This $1 million in support, when joined with the $1 million already pledged from the American Medical Association and the backing of our many other individual, corporate and foundation benefactors, signifies the start of a true public-private partnership. We look forward to working with HHS and all the members of the health community to bring the vision for the museum to reality."

To be located in Washington, D.C., the National Health Museum will use interactive, hands-on exhibits and cutting-edge educational techniques to inspire people of all ages to achieve better health, while exploring the achievements of health and medical discovery. In advance of its opening, the museum is already achieving its mission through its highly popular Web site that provides health and life science teachers and learners with accurate and timely health and bioscience information resources.

"Our dream is that through this museum we will be able to educate Americans about their health and empower them to make choices that will lead to healthier, more productive lives. As president of the American Medical Association, I can think of no goal more worthy than helping Americans live healthier and longer. It's the life's work of every physician -- and it's why the AMA was founded more than 150 years ago," said AMA President Donald Palmisano, M.D.

The museum will feature health-oriented exhibitions and educational programming, a state-of-the-art health conference center and special resources for K-12 students. It will seek to motivate people to learn more about their health needs and make positive lifestyle changes that will benefit their personal and their family health; inspire people, especially youth, to pursue careers in health by exploring growing opportunities in this field; promote appreciation of our nation's health science and medical heritage; and serve as an independent, unbiased center of dialogue about health issues. For more information about the National Health Museum, visit www.nationalhealthmuseum.org.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Last Revised: October 7, 2003