HYDE-SMITH LINES UP NIH SUPPORT FOR UMMC NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE DESIGNATION

HYDE-SMITH LINES UP NIH SUPPORT FOR UMMC NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE DESIGNATION

Miss. Senator Uses Budget Hearing to Highlight Cancer Center & Research Institute as Key to Improving State Health Outcomes

VIDEO: Senator Hyde-Smith Seeks Commitments for UMMC Gaining National Cancer Center Designation.
PHOTO: Senator Hyde-Smith with Ashleigh Parker, Cancer Survivor and Co-founder of DeSoto Hope Community Cancer Support.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today received commitments from National Institutes of Health officials to work with the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in its bid to be designated a National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Hyde-Smith questioned NIH officials about the need for better cancer treatment options in Mississippi during a Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to review the FY2027 NIH budget request. At the hearing, Hyde-Smith introduced cancer survivor Ashleigh Parker, co-founder of DeSoto Hope Community Cancer Support, who traveled to Washington to attend the hearing and meet with Hyde-Smith.

"I'm encouraged by the level of support expressed today for getting a National Cancer Institute designation for UMMC, which would be a game changer for Mississippi in terms of improving cancer treatments for our people and attracting more research and resources," Hyde-Smith said following the hearing. "There's a lot more work to do, but I look forward to continuing to work with UMMC, the NIH, and all the stakeholders in Mississippi on this important priority."

In asking NIH officials to commit to meeting with UMMC leadership directly, Hyde-Smith discussed the expected groundbreaking for the UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute and the state's $100 million contribution toward the five-story, 250,000-square-foot project.

Dr. Anthony Letai, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Cancer Institute, said agreeing to work with Hyde-Smith and UMMC "is an extremely easy commitment to make," considering the progress being made to meet three key thresholds to gain NCI designation.

"There's really three legs of this stool. There's institutional commitment, and there is infrastructure support, and I love what I'm hearing about what the state of Mississippi is doing towards that. The third leg of that stool is research, and it's very important, a very important part of the NCI designation is that there is a commitment to research," Letai told Hyde-Smith. "I know that excellent research is taking place in Mississippi. It's very easy for me to say that with our Office of Cancer Centers, we very much look forward to working with the staff at the University of Mississippi to make this a successful application."

The Thursday hearing is part of a series conducted by the Labor-HHS subcommittee to review budget proposals for federal health agencies before embarking on writing a FY2027 funding bill.

At an April hearing, Hyde-Smith asked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to help find a legislative solution to Area Wage Index discrepancies that penalize hospitals like Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg.

###