Today I heard that Georgia Congressman, Charles Norwood returned to Georgia today to enter hospice care for metastatic lung cancer.

For those of you who do not know, Congressman Norwood has been quite proactive in healthcare policy. He has been quite vocal about medical malpractice reform and was one of the driving forced behind the passage of the  “Patient Bill of Rights.”

Now I can’t say that I agreed with everything he put forth.  However, meeting him when I took a graduate school trip to DC to learn about health policy, made me respect him for what he was trying to do.  It was clear upon that short little meeting that Congressman Norwood really had the patient in mind and his intent was to make policy that would benefit those without power or voice.

It makes me sad that he reaches this point in his life and has had to step down from public service.  With that said, I wanted to take a moment to publically thank him for his efforts. I was going to email, but I’m sure the staffers are covered up and won’t be able to respond.  I know it sounds trite, but sincerely–my thoughts and prayer are with him and his family.

Thanks Congressman Norwood for caring enough to work hard for healthcare and many other issues.