Osteopathic Medicine Month

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution of Virginia in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

Osteopathic Medicine Month

WHEREAS, the year 2024 marks 150 years of osteopathic medicine; and

WHEREAS, the history of osteopathic medicine begins with the innovative and thoughtful mind of physician Andrew Taylor Still, MD, DO, born in Virginia, who, after losing his four children, reevaluated the existing practice of medicine and began setting the tenets of osteopathic medicine in 1874; and

WHEREAS, osteopathic medicine emphasizes a whole-person, patient-centric approach to healthcare, and osteopathic physicians play an important role in the healthcare system of the United States; and

WHEREAS, there are now more than 197,000 osteopathic physicians and osteopathic medical students in the United States; and

WHEREAS, osteopathic physicians train and practice in all medical specialties and practice settings, both nationally and internationally; and

WHEREAS, osteopathic physicians and medical students train at high-caliber schools of osteopathic medicine across the United States, including two in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Osteopathic Medical Association is the only organization representing the interests of all osteopathic physicians and students in Virginia, regardless of specialty or practice type, to ensure their voice is heard and the public understands the distinctive approach doctors of osteopathic medicine bring to the practice of medicine;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize December 2024, as OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE MONTH in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.