Latest news with #Bishop
Business Wire
2 hours ago
- Health
- Business Wire
Ivy Fertility Launches New Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Fellowship at Fertility Associates of Memphis with the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ivy Fertility, a nationally recognized network of fertility clinics, is proud to support a new Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility fellowship program initiated by Fertility Associates of Memphis within the Graduate Medical Education program at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. The fellowship aims to expand access to physician training in a region historically underserved by fertility specialists. The fellowship aims to expand access to physician training in a region historically underserved by fertility specialists. With fewer than 75 infertility physicians graduating from fellowship programs nationwide each year, the need for more training opportunities is urgent. Ivy Fertility is meeting this challenge by investing in a premier educational program that will provide aspiring REI physicians with world-class mentorship and clinical experience. This fellowship is one of only 50 teaching centers in the US accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and is the only program of its kind in the region, which includes Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The program's inaugural fellow is Dr. Sierra Bishop, a highly accomplished OB/GYN with deep roots in the Memphis medical community. Dr. Bishop earned her medical degree and completed her residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where she served as Chief Resident. Her research interests include fertility preservation for young cancer patients, recurrent pregnancy loss, and reproductive infections, topics on which she has published and presented nationally. 'Dr. Bishop is an exceptional physician, and we are thrilled to welcome her as our first fellow,' said Dr. William Kutteh, Fellowship Director and founding physician at Fertility Associates of Memphis. 'Our goal is to train thoughtful, skilled, and compassionate leaders in reproductive medicine, and I am confident that Dr. Bishop will set a high bar for the future of this program.' The Memphis-based program will draw on the deep expertise of FAM's faculty, who are nationally and internationally recognized leaders in the field. FAM's Dr. Kutteh, Dr. Raymond Ke, Dr. Paul Brezina, Dr. Amelia Bailey, and Dr. Jianchi Ding all have teaching appointments at the University of Tennessee, and they will all be part of the training program faculty. Collectively, they have published more than 300 academic papers and regularly hold leadership roles in national professional organizations. 'Tennessee is a critically important location for this kind of program,' added Dr. Kutteh. 'We are addressing a significant gap in reproductive healthcare training across the Southeast.' For Ivy Fertility, the fellowship is part of a broader commitment to expanding access to fertility care across the United States. 'At Ivy, we know that supporting the future of reproductive medicine means investing in the next generation of clinicians,' said Lisa Van Dolah, CEO of Ivy Fertility. 'We have made this top-tier physician program a priority. This fellowship reflects our long-term vision for growing both the fertility workforce and the reach of compassionate, personalized care.' About Ivy Fertility Ivy Fertility is globally recognized as pioneers and innovators in the field of advanced reproductive technologies, in-vitro fertilization, third-party reproduction, andrology, and fertility research. The Ivy Fertility network includes Dallas IVF, Fertility Associates of Memphis, Fertility Centers of Orange County, IVF Fertility Center, Los Angeles Reproductive Center, Nevada Center for Reproductive Medicine, Nevada Fertility Center, Northern California Fertility Medical Center, NOVA IVF, Pacific Northwest Fertility, Reproductive Partners Medical Group, San Diego Fertility Center, Utah Fertility Center, and Virginia Fertility & IVF. By developing new procedures, achieving scientific breakthroughs, and teaching the latest techniques, Ivy Fertility upholds its commitment to successful outcomes and continually contributes to the development of the entire fertility community. The Ivy team is passionate about its family-building mission and works tirelessly each day to help patients become parents.
BBC News
6 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
City feels like home, says new Bishop of Coventry Sophie Jelley
The new Bishop of Coventry has told how she wants to see congregations grow at churches in the area and how the city already feels like Right Reverend Sophie Jelley was officially installed as Coventry's first female bishop in February and moved to the Midlands in May. She began work two weeks ago."To see churches flourish and grow is something that I've been involved in since I became a Christian when I was a teenager." She said she had a strong commitment that all churches with the right support can grow," said Bishop Jelley. She took on the role after Dr Christopher Cocksworth left to become the Dean of Windsor. But Bishop Jelley added: "It's God who gives the growth and we can't always predict that."Speaking to BBC Radio CWR, she described how she was ordained in 1997 and in many of the roles she has taken on since, she has been the first woman in the post."I've been so warmly welcomed that it's been received as a good thing, I think, so far," she added: "Just the warmth of the people has been tremendous and I think that's not so much about gender but just the warmth of the Midlands people really." Before she became its bishop, she had been to Coventry once in her life, she 20th Century cathedral stands alongside the ruins of the original Cathedral of St Michael, which was built between the late 14th and 15th old cathedral was destroyed during the World War Two blitz, in said the first time she saw the cathedral, she was in "awe", adding: "Nothing can prepare you for the story as you walk through from the ruins to the new cathedral." Remembering how she stood in front of Coventry's brightly-coloured Baptistery Window, Bishop Jelley said it reminded her of a place of worship at Sussex University called The Meeting said her father, as a mature student, took her there regularly when she was aged five or six."I loved it in there and it had a similar feel," she said."It was very odd, as if God had been weaving the story of my life… As I stood in front of that window, I felt like I was home." Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Scoop
10 hours ago
- Business
- Scoop
Government, Opposition Scrap Over Common Infrastructure Ground
Article – RNZ Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has agreed to work with his counterparts on the 30-year plan, but the discussion got heated. A reference to $250,000 was corrected to $250 million in this story. Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has committed to working directly with the Opposition, when putting together the Government's response to the 30-year infrastructure plan due out next week. He says that co-operation comes on the proviso that infrastructure decisions are always political in nature – and it did not stop the discussion from repeatedly descending into a fingerpointing tit-for-tat over which government was to blame for what. Labour housing, infrastructure and public investment spokesperson Kieran McAnulty kicked off the scrutiny week select committee hearing on Thursday afternoon, making an effort to 'start on a positive note' on how bipartisanship could work for infrastructure policy, suggesting that would provide more certainty to the sector. 'I agree,' Bishop said. 'That's part of the reason why we campaigned on a 30-year national infrastructure plan being developed in government.' The plan has been developed independently by the Infrastructure Commission since late 2023 and is due to be launched at Parliament next week, with the government required to respond within six months. Bishop said he planned a Parliamentary debate, so all the political parties' views could be included in that response, but McAnulty wanted more. 'At the moment, frankly, the attitude of some ministers of bipartisanship is, 'We'll work with you, if you agree with us', and I don't think that's good enough,' he said, garnering an emphatic 'yeah' from Green MP Julie Anne Genter. Bishop said completely depoliticising infrastructure was not possible, which was to be expected in a democracy. 'You know, if we all agreed, this would be a fairly boring place,' he said. McAnulty agreed with an agreement to disagree. 'We think some of the things you've done are stupid… what I would like to see is a commitment,' he said. 'There's an opportunity there to work with the other side to actually identify where there is broad agreement and include that in your response.' More than just a debate, he wanted the response to include an explanation of which infrastructure projects the government and opposition parties agreed on. Bishop: 'I'm happy to commit to that now. Just making the obvious point … we may not always agree. 'For example, you guys have got to figure out where you're at on PPPs, for example, because you've had about nine different positions. McAnulty: 'We know where we're at with that.' Bishop: 'You sure?' McAnulty: 'Yes, I am actually… this is one of the things that I'm actually trying to avoid, right, is that we can't help ourselves. 'This is the game we're in. We talk about bipartisanship, but we also take every opportunity to have a crack at each other.' Bishop: 'Well, you just said some of the stuff we've done was stupid.' McAnulty: 'Exactly my point, we can't help ourselves.' Bishop said parties could agree on a lot, when it came to infrastructure, and 'sometimes there's a bit more heat than light in this debate'. McAnulty said he did not think the public would know that. The minister pressed on, deferring to Infrastructure Commission chief executive Geoff Cooper to explain the projects expected across the country from about 110 organisations, including all but 14 of the country's councils. The result was a list showing investment worth $206 billion, broken down by region and sector, which Cooper said started to paint a much clearer picture of investment. 'The point is to have… almost a single source of truth for what's in the pipeline,' Bishop said. Committee chair Andy Foster – a former Wellington mayor – said the information should be included in councils' long-term plans and they should be contributing. Bishop had an easy solution. 'Well, if they don't do it, we can just mandate that they do it – but I'd rather not, because that takes time and money,' he said. 'I'd rather they just do it.' 'Enough of those mandates for councils,' interjected Labour local government spokesperson Tangi Utikere. 'We make them do all sorts of things for the right reasons and this would be the same thing,' Bishop responded. Clashes over cancellations While the first half hour was not entirely bonhomie, unicorns and rainbows, the verbal finger pointing was surely on show in the second half of Bishop's appearance. McAnulty asked if the minister accepted cancelling projects across successive governments had affected sector confidence. 'Depends exactly what you're talking about,' Bishop said. 'I accept that, after 2017, the radical change in direction of the National Land Transport Plan at the time had a significant impact.' 'So you're willing to say that one government cancelled projects that had an effect, but you're not willing to concede that you guys cancelling projects has?' McAnulty responded. Bishop said it showed the limits of bipartisanship. 'Our view was that they're the wrong projects for the country, he said. 'Depends which one, but generally too expensive, not good value for money, in some cases undeliverable. 'It was the right thing to do to say, 'You know what, we're actually just not going to proceed with that'.' Genter said many council projects were also defunded under the coalition and the iReX ferry replacement could have been rescoped, rather than dumped. Predictably, this kicked off a four-minute cancellation-measuring contest – which government cancelled more projects? Who cancelled more projects that were already contracted? 'You can have an intention to do something, it doesn't mean it will end up happening,' Bishop concluded – or seemed to. 'The last government lived in fiscal fantasy land.' 'Only because your government made a decision to give billions of dollars to landlords,' Genter fired back. Foster was eager to move on, asking Bishop about whether Kāinga Ora had managed to bring social housing build costs down to the same level as private developers – a topic well traversed in the last scrutiny week in December. The minister did not have the latest numbers, 'because this is not the vote Housing and Urban Development estimates', but the agency was making 'good progress' and would report back on that publicly. He and Utikere then argued some more over the roughly $250 million allocated for cancellation of the ferries contract – whether that was part of Bishop's responsibilities – with Bishop saying it belonged to Rail Minister Winston Peters and Utikere saying, when they'd asked Peters, he'd referred it to Bishop. Utikere: 'And the minister doesn't even know … that's very disappointing.' Bishop: 'Yes. So's your behaviour.' Utikere: 'No, it's not actually, minister, my behaviour is about scrutinising the executive – that is our responsibility. 'It is disappointing that you don't know the answer to just over a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of taxpayers money that has been set aside in your Budget.' Foster stepped in again, suggesting Bishop's answer was that it was best for his ministerial staff to provide an answer and they did. Treasury deputy secretary Leilani Frew said negotiations for the ferry contract exit were still continuing, as well as wind-down costs. The discussion soon wound down too – after a series of patsy questions and a discussion about the causes of 15,000 fewer people being employed in construction. Bishop argued it was an expected side-effect of bringing down the official cash rate, which would – in turn – have the biggest effect on reinvigorating the sector, McAnulty argued housing could be an avenue for stimulating growth. In the end, the public got a commitment to bipartisanship. Whether it lasts remains to be seen, but investors watching this scrappy select committee may be hesitant to bet the house on it.
Scoop
11 hours ago
- Business
- Scoop
Government, Opposition Scrap Over Common Infrastructure Ground
A reference to $250,000 was corrected to $250 million in this story. Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has committed to working directly with the Opposition, when putting together the Government's response to the 30-year infrastructure plan due out next week. He says that co-operation comes on the proviso that infrastructure decisions are always political in nature - and it did not stop the discussion from repeatedly descending into a fingerpointing tit-for-tat over which government was to blame for what. Labour housing, infrastructure and public investment spokesperson Kieran McAnulty kicked off the scrutiny week select committee hearing on Thursday afternoon, making an effort to "start on a positive note" on how bipartisanship could work for infrastructure policy, suggesting that would provide more certainty to the sector. "I agree," Bishop said. "That's part of the reason why we campaigned on a 30-year national infrastructure plan being developed in government." The plan has been developed independently by the Infrastructure Commission since late 2023 and is due to be launched at Parliament next week, with the government required to respond within six months. Bishop said he planned a Parliamentary debate, so all the political parties' views could be included in that response, but McAnulty wanted more. "At the moment, frankly, the attitude of some ministers of bipartisanship is, 'We'll work with you, if you agree with us', and I don't think that's good enough," he said, garnering an emphatic "yeah" from Green MP Julie Anne Genter. Bishop said completely depoliticising infrastructure was not possible, which was to be expected in a democracy. "You know, if we all agreed, this would be a fairly boring place," he said. McAnulty agreed with an agreement to disagree. "We think some of the things you've done are stupid... what I would like to see is a commitment," he said. "There's an opportunity there to work with the other side to actually identify where there is broad agreement and include that in your response." More than just a debate, he wanted the response to include an explanation of which infrastructure projects the government and opposition parties agreed on. Bishop: "I'm happy to commit to that now. Just making the obvious point ... we may not always agree. "For example, you guys have got to figure out where you're at on PPPs, for example, because you've had about nine different positions. McAnulty: "We know where we're at with that." Bishop: "You sure?" McAnulty: "Yes, I am actually... this is one of the things that I'm actually trying to avoid, right, is that we can't help ourselves. "This is the game we're in. We talk about bipartisanship, but we also take every opportunity to have a crack at each other." Bishop: "Well, you just said some of the stuff we've done was stupid." McAnulty: "Exactly my point, we can't help ourselves." Bishop said parties could agree on a lot, when it came to infrastructure, and "sometimes there's a bit more heat than light in this debate". McAnulty said he did not think the public would know that. The minister pressed on, deferring to Infrastructure Commission chief executive Geoff Cooper to explain the projects expected across the country from about 110 organisations, including all but 14 of the country's councils. The result was a list showing investment worth $206 billion, broken down by region and sector, which Cooper said started to paint a much clearer picture of investment. "The point is to have... almost a single source of truth for what's in the pipeline," Bishop said. Committee chair Andy Foster - a former Wellington mayor - said the information should be included in councils' long-term plans and they should be contributing. Bishop had an easy solution. "Well, if they don't do it, we can just mandate that they do it - but I'd rather not, because that takes time and money," he said. "I'd rather they just do it." "Enough of those mandates for councils," interjected Labour local government spokesperson Tangi Utikere. "We make them do all sorts of things for the right reasons and this would be the same thing," Bishop responded. Clashes over cancellations While the first half hour was not entirely bonhomie, unicorns and rainbows, the verbal finger pointing was surely on show in the second half of Bishop's appearance. McAnulty asked if the minister accepted cancelling projects across successive governments had affected sector confidence. "Depends exactly what you're talking about," Bishop said. "I accept that, after 2017, the radical change in direction of the National Land Transport Plan at the time had a significant impact." "So you're willing to say that one government cancelled projects that had an effect, but you're not willing to concede that you guys cancelling projects has?" McAnulty responded. Bishop said it showed the limits of bipartisanship. "Our view was that they're the wrong projects for the country, he said. "Depends which one, but generally too expensive, not good value for money, in some cases undeliverable. "It was the right thing to do to say, 'You know what, we're actually just not going to proceed with that'." Genter said many council projects were also defunded under the coalition and the iReX ferry replacement could have been rescoped, rather than dumped. Predictably, this kicked off a four-minute cancellation-measuring contest - which government cancelled more projects? Who cancelled more projects that were already contracted? "You can have an intention to do something, it doesn't mean it will end up happening," Bishop concluded - or seemed to. "The last government lived in fiscal fantasy land." "Only because your government made a decision to give billions of dollars to landlords," Genter fired back. Foster was eager to move on, asking Bishop about whether Kāinga Ora had managed to bring social housing build costs down to the same level as private developers - a topic well traversed in the last scrutiny week in December. The minister did not have the latest numbers, "because this is not the vote Housing and Urban Development estimates", but the agency was making "good progress" and would report back on that publicly. He and Utikere then argued some more over the roughly $250 million allocated for cancellation of the ferries contract - whether that was part of Bishop's responsibilities - with Bishop saying it belonged to Rail Minister Winston Peters and Utikere saying, when they'd asked Peters, he'd referred it to Bishop. Utikere: "And the minister doesn't even know ... that's very disappointing." Bishop: "Yes. So's your behaviour." Utikere:"No, it's not actually, minister, my behaviour is about scrutinising the executive - that is our responsibility. "It is disappointing that you don't know the answer to just over a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of taxpayers money that has been set aside in your Budget." Foster stepped in again, suggesting Bishop's answer was that it was best for his ministerial staff to provide an answer and they did. Treasury deputy secretary Leilani Frew said negotiations for the ferry contract exit were still continuing, as well as wind-down costs. The discussion soon wound down too - after a series of patsy questions and a discussion about the causes of 15,000 fewer people being employed in construction. Bishop argued it was an expected side-effect of bringing down the official cash rate, which would - in turn - have the biggest effect on reinvigorating the sector, McAnulty argued housing could be an avenue for stimulating growth. In the end, the public got a commitment to bipartisanship. Whether it lasts remains to be seen, but investors watching this scrappy select committee may be hesitant to bet the house on it.
NZ Autocar
2 days ago
- Automotive
- NZ Autocar
Land transport rules up for reform
There are plans afoot to overhaul New Zealand's land transport rules. Transport Minister Chris Bishop says the Government will be pushing ahead with reforms in a bid to increase productivity, reduce costs and improve efficiency across the sector. These should be more effective than a road cone hot line too. The review is part of the newly announced Land Transport Rules Reform Programme, which Bishop says is aimed at stripping out outdated regulations and easing compliance costs for road users and businesses. 'Land transport rules set out how different sectors of the transport industry must operate. They impact all road users – from the suburban mum or dad who has to get a Warrant of Fitness every year no matter how new or well-maintained their car, to the truckies who've been loaded up with compliance costs due to rules long since made redundant through advances in technology,' Bishop says. Examples highlighted by Bishop include the current Road User Rule that doesn't permit e-scooters in cycle lanes or allow young children to cycle on footpaths, and a reliance on hard copy letters – with 14 million mailed last year at a cost of $16.8 million. Bishop points to earlier consultation this year on reducing Warrant and Certificate of Fitness renewal requirements for motorhomes and vintage vehicles as a sign of the Government's approach to 'common-sense' reform. 'Now we're taking that same common-sense approach to other transport rules through a comprehensive programme of work to reform and update them, with most decisions expected to be made over the next 18 months,' he says. A key area under review is the introduction of additional safety requirements for imported vehicles, which could have significant implications for the used import sector. Seven streams of reform The Land Transport Rules Reform Programme includes seven key areas: Reducing WOF and COF inspection frequency for vintage vehicles and motorhomes. Introducing new safety requirements for vehicle imports. Reviewing WOF/COF requirements for light vehicles. Simplifying heavy vehicle licensing, weight thresholds and freight permits. Enabling digital driver licences, removing physical labels and stickers, and allowing online theory testing. Improving lane use, including allowing e-scooters in cycle lanes, children cycling on footpaths, and requiring vehicles to give way to buses. Overhauling the vehicle regulatory system to streamline import requirements and align with overseas standards. 'The work delivers on commitments in the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport and the Road Safety Objectives document to review the vehicle regulatory system to improve safety, reduce regulatory burden, and ensure our domestic rules are fit for purpose, investigate our warrant of fitness system to more effectively and efficiently target risk, and investigate new safety requirements for vehicles entering the fleet,' says Bishop. Some elements of the reform will take longer than 18 months, including the complete overhaul of the vehicle regulatory system and a review of the Vehicle Dimension and Mass rule. Consultation timeline Public consultation will begin in October 2025 on: Additional safety requirements for imports Changes to WOF and COF requirements for light vehicles Freight permitting changes Further consultation is expected in early 2026 on: Licensing weight thresholds Digital driver licences and e-documents Lane use and traffic control device changes A review of the broader vehicle regulatory system will begin consultation in mid-2026.
