AAPA Leaders Welcome German Minister of Health at Bellevue in New York

Last month, the President and Chair of AAPA’s Board of Directors, Dave Mittman, sat down with the German Minister of Health and the founder of the German PA profession to showcase the PA profession.

By Dave Mittman, PA, DFAAPA, President and Chair of AAPA’s Board of Directors

Nothing makes me prouder than showing off the PA profession, especially to folks visiting the U.S. from other countries. While PA practice varies from nation to nation, we all have common interests including a passion for providing the very best healthcare to people who need it.

On Thursday, November 21, AAPA Past-President Jonathan E. Sobel, DMSc, MBA, PA-C, DFAAPA, FAPACVS, and I had the privilege of representing AAPA at a unique gathering at Bellevue Hospital in New York.

There, with PAs who work at Bellevue, we hosted Dr. Marcus Hoffman, MD, founder of the German PA profession, and Dr. Heiner Garg, Minister of Social Affairs, Health, Youth, Family and Senior Citizens of the Land of Schleswig-Holstein – one of Germany’s 16 states.

Both came to see for themselves the fine work PAs do at Bellevue Hospital, one of the oldest and most famous public hospitals in the U.S. After a tour of the Emergency Department and ICU floor, a number of PAs shared their professional stories during a roundtable, providing color to the diverse experiences PAs have here in the U.S.

A personal highlight for me was when the medical director of Bellevue Hospital called PAs “the scaffolding that holds up our hospital.”

We thank Bellevue and their excellent staff for their gracious hospitality, as well as David Lizotte, PA-C, FAPACVS, who worked to put the meeting together and plan the visit.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.