The three Medical College of Georgia alumni serving in the Georgia Legislature diverge on some issues, but during interviews for MCG Today, a common theme soon emerged: in all three cases, their passion and commitment preceded their political careers. None set out to be politicians; they all simply followed deeply felt causes along a path that eventually wended its way to the State Capitol.
That mindset seems to permeate their approach to governance. Sen. Donald Ray Thomas considers himself a physician who serves in the Senate--not as a senator with a medical degree. Likewise, Rep. Sharon Cooper is a nurse, and Sen. Greg Goggans an orthodontist. They’re also spouses, parents, community members and proud Georgians--roles that inform and inspire every decision they make as lawmakers.
They have something else in common, too. Perhaps precisely because they all slipped in through the back door rather than barreled single-mindedly into a career in government, they all genuinely enjoy politics. Partisan wrangling? Fractious committee meetings? Tedious details and endless negotiations? They take it all in stride.
As Sen. Goggans says, “It’s a chance, day in and day out, to help communities with their problems and to help individuals. That’s what I enjoy doing.”
They also concur that their MCG educations laid the foundation for fulfilling careers that enabled them to maximize their impact on health care, including at a societal level.
Here’s a closer look at all three:
Values Taking Root
Perhaps
the most telling detail about Sen. Don Thomas is that he still lives on the
Dalton, Ga., farm where he was raised. Roots matter to him, and he never felt
the need to venture far from home to make his mark in the world.
“I was born at the end of the Depression, and we raised most everything we ate,” says Sen. Thomas, who has represented Georgia’s District 54 since 1996. “Today, we raise chickens and cows. My middle son is a full-time farmer, and all of my children are here in the area--eight children and 19 grandchildren.”
He cherishes the stability and permanency of the lifestyle. As for the hard work? Well, that’s a part of life. “The farm is where my values really took root,” he says. “I look back and realize the hard work didn’t hurt me and in fact helped me.”
Sen. Thomas earned his medical degree from MCG in 1959 and began a family practice in Dalton in 1960. He and Emma Jean, his wife of 50 years, raised their children amid a full schedule of farm work and old-fashioned medicine, complete with house calls. But when he was only 36, a heart attack threatened to derail his carefully tended hopes and dreams.
Sen. Thomas survived, then embarked on a fitness routine that, while de rigueur these days, was nothing short of odd in the mid-’60s. He began jogging several miles a day, routinely alarming passers-by who wondered where he was going and what the rush was. But soon, Sen. Thomas’ jogging shoes were as familiar to Dalton residents as his black bag, and he became an early role model for taking a proactive approach to wellness. The cause has been a resounding philosophy for him ever since.
It was also around this time that Sen. Thomas served on the Whitfield County School Board, setting the stage for a broader political arena. When a Senate seat opened in 1996, his community urged him to run. “I felt I could help people locally and statewide by getting involved,” he says.
He won the election and has spent the past decade distinguishing himself as an astute statesman and utter gentleman. As chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, Sen. Thomas has championed legislation that has, among other things, made cold medicine used in methamphetamine labs harder to purchase, expanded cervical cancer screening, required that teens pass driver’s education and, closest to his heart, banned indoor public smoking statewide.
“That kind of legislation is always controversial, weighing business rights with health issues, but we were able to convince people that the right of children and adults to breathe smoke-free air superceded the desire of smokers to smoke inside.”
He continues to run three to five miles a day, and the good nature he brought to the Senate is firmly intact. “You win some battles and you lose some,” he says, “and tomorrow’s always another day. I just keep on running.”
Increasing
Contribution Exponentially
Rep. Sharon Cooper laughs that her initiation into politics began with an impetuous visit to her congressman’s office.
“I was wearing a blue jean skirt and a teddy bear sweater and I walked into Newt Gingrich’s office and said, ‘You have to give me something to do to help.’”
The 1990s were in their infancy, and she was alarmed by signs that the decade might mark the dismantling of a health care system that, while flawed, she considered the best in the world.
“That’s why everybody in the world wants to come here for health care,” she says in rapid-fire tones that punctuate a feisty and determined personality.
Until that spontaneous visit, Rep. Cooper had advocated for health care in the way she knew best: by taking care of patients. She earned a master’s degree in nursing from MCG in 1976 and helped run the Marietta, Ga., practice of her physician husband, Tom.
But when then-Congressman Gingrich put her to work as a volunteer, she saw the potential to increase her contributions exponentially. Her first mission was encouraging others to engage in the political process. “I found that even though our friends were highly educated and intelligent, they would balk when I tried to convince them to contact their congressmen. They just didn’t understand how the system worked. I told Newt he needed to write a how-to book.”
Or, uh ...she could do it. So she did. Building on the skills she had amassed writing two nursing textbooks, she published “Taxpayers’ Tea Party” in 1994.
“I had been perfectly happy working behind the scenes,” she says, but suddenly, she was front and center. When a seat opened for her East Cobb district, she ran as a Republican and won.
Now in her ninth year as a legislator, “I think I’ve certainly made a contribution to better health care for Georgians, especially in this last year,” she says. She now chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee and has pushed for health-related legislation including the public smoking ban and tort reform.
“I also championed the Volunteer in Medicine Act modeled on a Florida bill letting retired doctors and nurses volunteer under special regulations without carrying malpractice insurance so they can treat our most needy citizens,” she says. “Last year, needy Floridians received $130 million in free medical care because practitioners didn’t have to worry about the threat of a lawsuit hanging over their heads.”
She feels such legislation, as well as comprehensive tort reform, is long overdue. “We’re losing physicians. They’re retiring in their 40s and 50s because of the high cost of malpractice insurance. The hardest-hit specialties are radiology and pathology, so, for instance, women run the risk of not being able to have their mammograms and Pap smears interpreted. I want to continue to help craft legislation that promotes good health care and better access for the citizens of Georgia.”
She also strengthened the state’s stalking law and serves on the president’s national committee battling violence against women.
She amiably admits that her job has become easier since the GOP assumed majority status last year. “It’s a whole lot nicer being in the majority,” she says. “I’m really enjoying public service.”
Serving on a Bigger Scale
Having almost completed his first year as a senator for Georgia’s District Seven, Greg Goggans feels a profound sense of purpose.
“It was a humbling experience to lay my hand on the Holy Bible and recite the Oath of Office,” says Sen. Goggans, a 1984 graduate of the MCG School of Dentistry who practiced orthodontics in Douglas, Ga., before opting to represent his district full time. “The people of the Seventh District entrusted me to faithfully represent them when they elected me in November. I pledged not to break that trust and to honorably serve and represent the interests of south Georgia.”
He wasted no time, being named secretary of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and a member of the Agriculture, Finance and Transportation Committees. He also is communications director for the Georgia Sportsmen’s Caucus. Sen. Goggans was appointed to serve on two study committees (Agriculture Education and the State Health Benefit Plan Prior Approval and Preferred Drug List Formulary) and was chosen to represent the Senate at the Southern Leadership Conference on Health Care and Public Safety.
Just recently, Sen. Goggans was appointed to the Senate Appropriations Committee and will chair the Appropriations Subcommittee for the Department of Community Health, which oversees Georgia’s funding for Medicaid, PeachCare and the State HealthCare Benefit Plan.
“This is the first time in recent history that a freshman senator has been appointed to chair a budget subcommittee,” says Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams. “Sen. Goggans has demonstrated his leadership through hard work. This appointment is significant because he will be responsible for approximately one-quarter of funds in the state’s annual budget.”
“I am thrilled that the Senate leadership chose to place me on these committees,” Sen. Goggans says. “The issues addressed by these committees are extremely important to our area.”
Sen. Goggans has been goal-oriented all his life, a characteristic that complemented his career choice. “Orthodontists get a chance to see before-and-after outcomes of improving people’s smiles and confidence,” he says. “You get the sense that you’re really making a difference in people’s lives.”
He
and wife Jane enjoyed raising their four children in a small town and easily
envisioned maintaining their lifestyle for decades to come. But when new
district lines were drawn and Sen. Williams asked him to consider running, he
found the offer intriguing. “I’d never been involved in politics, but I spent
years trying to improve my community,” he says. “I didn’t know what to expect,
but I liked the idea of serving on a bigger scale and trying to help more
communities.”
Issues particularly close to his heart include tort reform and Medicaid reform. “Our Medicaid rolls in Georgia are growing at 14 percent,” he says. “The program is unsustainable if the growth continues, so we’re looking for innovative ways to try to continue to provide health care for all citizens. It’s very challenging.”
Regarding the health care system in general, Sen. Goggans says, “I see us hopefully being able to correct the problems and continue to provide the best health care in the world.”
He is eminently grateful to his family for supporting his midlife career change. “My family is very supportive,” he says. “They know I’ve always helped people and that’s been part of my life. They understand this is just an extension of that... an opportunity to help more people in more communities.”
- Christine Hurley Deriso