Medical students, physicians, nurses and others have revived a petition calling for Cleveland Clinic to move its annual winter gala from President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., this time in opposition of the administration's healthcare policies, Cleveland.com reports.
The latest petition, dated July 24, comes after the Clinic has indicated it will host its annual winter gala at Mar-a-Lago again in 2018. The petition, which has nearly 1,200 signatories as of Aug. 10, calls the decision to host the gala at a Trump resort an "inherently political act," and a symbolic endorsement of the administration's policies. "Fundraising events should not directly enrich a politician actively working to take healthcare from our patients and research funding from our labs," the petition reads. "The Cleveland Clinic must make finding a new location for the fundraiser a priority."
The first petition against locating the Clinic's annual gala at Mar-a-Lago was created after President Trump signed an executive order to suspend refugee admissions and ban citizens of seven countries from entering the country — it garnered more than 1,700 signatures. Despite protests, the Clinic did not cancel the February 2017 gala, according to Cleveland.com.
Eileen Shiel, Cleveland Clinic's executive director of corporate communications, told Cleveland.com the health system considered other locations for the 2018 gala, but officials and donors still chose Mar-a-Lago. The contract is being finalized, according to the report.
Other major medical organizations that held annual fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago — including Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Rye Brook, N.Y.-based Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Miami-based Bascom Palmer Eye Institute — moved their 2018 events to The Breakers resort in Palm Beach.
Read the full story on Cleveland.com here.
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