TITLE: Honoring Dr. Francis H. Wright Jr. of San Antonio for his service as chair of the Chronic Kidney Disease Task Force.

SUMMARY: Honoring Dr. Francis H. Wright Jr. of San Antonio for his service as chair of the Chronic Kidney Disease Task Force.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Dr. Francis H. Wright Jr. of San Antonio concluded his noteworthy tenure as chair of the Chronic Kidney Disease Task Force in December 2024; and WHEREAS, Appointed to the task force by the governor in 2019, Dr. Wright was named chair two years later; the team of experts coordinates the implementation of the state's plan for the prevention, early screening, diagnosis, and management of chronic kidney disease, and it educates health care professionals as well; and WHEREAS, Now retired, Dr. Wright worked tirelessly in behalf of chronic kidney disease patients during more than four decades as both a surgeon and advocate; he performed over 3,000 transplants, and as medical director of Transplant Care Consultants, he addressed such issues pertaining to care as quality, outcomes, and access; prior to that role, he served as founding director of organ transplantation as well as director of the Solid Organ Transplant Program and of the Transplant Surgery Fellowship Program at the Texas Transplant Institute on the campus of Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio; in addition, he established and directed the transplant program at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee; and WHEREAS, Dedicated to improving health care, Dr. Wright helped to develop national transplant policy as a member of several committees of the United Network for Organ Sharing, and he served as president of both the South-Eastern Organ Procurement Foundation and the American Foundation for Donation and Transplantation; he further gave of his time and knowledge to boards and committees of the State of Texas Kidney Foundation and the U.S. Renal Network 14; his professional affiliations have included the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the International Transplantation Society, among others; and WHEREAS, Dr. Wright's research regarding organ transplant topics appeared in numerous publications; a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, he received his medical degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and completed an organ transplant fellowship at the University of Iowa Hospitals in 1988 as a member of its surgery faculty; and WHEREAS, Through his leadership and vision, Francis Wright greatly advanced the important mission of the CKD Task Force, and his contributions are indeed deserving of special recognition; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas Legislature hereby honor Dr. Francis H. Wright Jr. for his service as chair of the Chronic Kidney Disease Task Force and extend to him sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Dr. Wright as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Guillen Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 913 was adopted by the House on May 23, 2025, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House