Tom Coburn, MD.
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FAIRFAX, Va.—The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Foundation, an organization that supports physician education and provides humanitarian cataract surgery, announced that former U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, MD, will join the Foundation governing board.

The governing board includes experienced ophthalmologists, industry leaders and advocates who manage foundation programs in Ethiopia and the U.S. Dr. Coburn brings to the board his extensive background in healthcare and politics.

Dr. Coburn served as a representative for Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2001 and was a U.S. Senator from 2005 to 2015. His experience in the medical field includes being a manufacturing manager of Coburn Optical Industries and starting his own practice in family medicine, allergy and obstetrics.

An advocate for more affordable and accessible healthcare, Dr. Coburn was a featured speaker at the 2017 Symposium & Congress, held annually by ASCRS and its American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators division. At the symposium, Dr. Coburn discussed his perspective as both a physician and a patient on how to improve the healthcare system in his address, “What’s Killing Healthcare.”

Dr. Coburn joins the ASCRS Foundation governing board alongside chairs David F. Chang, MD; Stephen S. Lane, MD; and James V. Mazzo.