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Richard L. Bucciarelli, M.D.
Nemours Eminent
Scholar
Chairman Department of Pediatrics
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Rick, a
graduate of the University of Michigan School of Medicine (‘72M), is
boarded in Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology, and Neonatal-Perinatal
Medicine and continues to actively practice Neonatology at the
University of Florida.
After graduation and completion of his pediatric training at the
University of Florida, he served as a member of the pediatric
faculty at the University of Utah for four years. He then returned
to the University of Florida in 1982 as Chief of Neonatology.
In 1990 Rick became a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow and
worked in the office of Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV). As a
health policy legislative assistant, Rick was instrumental in
drafting several pieces of legislation, including the Medicare
physician payment system (RBRVS) and the Democratic leadership bill
for universal health coverage for all Americans. From 1991-2001,
Rick served as Associate Chair of Pediatrics and became very
involved in pediatric health policy research as a member of the
Institute for Child Health Policy at UF. For the past several years,
Rick and his colleagues have analyzed various aspects of the Healthy
Kids program in Florida, as well as, Florida’s SCHIP program,
KidCare.
Rick has served on the AAP Committee on Federal Governmental Affairs
for six years before becoming Chair in 1999. At the same time he was
appointed as Chair of the AAP Workgroup on Access and Health Care
Coverage for Children and is one of the major architects of the AAP
MediKids proposal, which was introduced by Representative Pete Stark
(D-CA) and Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV (D-WV) and is currently
before Congress. In 2007, he was appointed to the Academy’s
Committee on State Governmental Affairs where he serves today.
In January of 2001, Rick became the Associate Vice-President for
Health Affairs for Governmental Relations, representing the health
science in Washington and in Tallahassee and in September of 2002,
he was appointed Vice President for Government Relations for the
University of Florida where he was responsible for all government
relations activities for the University at both the state and
federal levels. In April 2004, he returned to the UF Health Science
Center in his capacity as Associate Vice President for Health for
Government Relations. In May 2007 he assumed the duties of Interim
Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Florida
and was appointed Chair and Nemours Eminent Scholar in March, 2008.
With this appointment, Rick resigned his government relations
position to dedicate full time to the department and to advocacy for
children’s health care issues.
Despite this heavy administrative load, Rick remains active as a
practicing neonatologist and teacher and is the Immediate Past-President
of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Rick and Lynda are avid Gators. They have two children: Amy, an art
therapist in Virginia and Chris, a second year medical student at
the University of Florida.
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