November 17, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10557 

TRIBUTE TO VALERIE WOODRUFF 

∑ Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I 

rise today in recognition of Dr. Valerie 

Woodruff—like me a native of West 

Virginia—upon her retirement as secretary of the Delaware Department of 

Education. Valerie, known to her many 

admirers in the First State as Val, has 

dedicated the past 43 years of her career to education and served the last 10 

as Delaware’s secretary of education, a 

position I was privileged to nominated 

her to when I served as Delaware’s 

Governor from 1993–2001. 

After receiving her bachelor’s degree 

in secondary education from the 

Alderson Broaddus College in Philippi, 

WV, Val began her career in education 

as an English and social studies teacher at Bohemia Manor High School. She 

taught for 3 years before becoming a 

guidance counselor and beginning to 

work towards her master’s degree. 

After receiving her master’s degree 

in 1971 from the University of Delaware 

in guidance and counseling, Val moved 

to Delaware and became a guidance 

counselor at Delcastle Technical High 

School near Wilmington. Five years 

later, she became the school’s assistant 

principal. During her time at Delcastle, 

she also served on the Governor’s Advisory Council for Career and Vocational 

Education. 

Val worked on her doctorate degree 

in vocational education and curriculum 

development at Temple University 

while serving as assistant principal, 

then went on to become the principal 

at Middletown High School in 1984. She 

was an excellent principal, and her 

work did not go unnoticed. In June of 

1990, she was selected as Principal of 

the Year by the Delaware Association 

of Secondary School Principals. During 

her watch at Middletown High School, 

the first school-based wellness center 

was established there. Today, in no 

small part because of her leadership, 

every public high school has a wellness 

center where students receive help and 

support to enable them to succeed in 

school and in life. 

Later, Dr. Woodruff served as the associate secretary for improvement and 

assistance in the areas of curriculum 

and instruction at the department of 

education for 7 years. In 1999, I nominated her be secretary of education, 

overseeing the implementation of our 

State’s education improvement plan 

which focuses on rigorous academic 

standards; objectively measuring student progress toward those standards; 

and holding schools, school districts, 

students, educators and parents accountable for improving student 

achievement. Val has emerged as a national leader among our Nation’s chief 

school officers and has worked closely 

with her peers and with the U.S. Department of Education to develop and 

modify the Leave No Student Behind 

law and to narrow the achievement in 

Delaware and across America. 

Val has a long list of accomplishments and is leaving big shoes to fill 

for the next secretary of education. 

She is a member of many prestigious 

boards including the board of directors 

of the Council of Chief State School Officers on which she was president from 

2005–2006, the Southern Regional Education Board on which she was the first 

K–12 educator to be elected vice-chair, 

and the Delaware Workforce Investment Board. 

Dr. Woodruff also currently serves on 

the Vision 2015 Steering and Implementation Committee and is on the President’s Policy Council for the Alliance 

for Excellent Education. In addition, 

she is a valued member of the Delaware 

Mentoring Council and of the Delaware 

State Chamber of Commerce Partnership. 

Through her tireless efforts, Valerie 

Woodruff has made a positive difference in the lives of tens of thousands 

of students in Delaware and, in doing 

so, has enhanced the quality of life in 

our State for years to come. Upon her 

retirement, she will leave behind a legacy of commitment to education and to 

public service for generations to follow. I thank her for the friendship that 

we share, and I congratulate her on a 

truly remarkable and distinguished career. In closing, on behalf of the people 

of Delaware, I want to wish Val and her 

family the very best in all that lies 

ahead for each of them.

f 

∑ 

RECOGNIZING MERCY CLINICS, 

INC. 

∑ Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I 

wish to extend my warm congratulations to Mercy Clinics, Inc., based in 

Des Moines, for earning the prestigious 

2008 Acclaim Award from the American 

Medical Group Association. This award 

is an extraordinary honor, given annually to the medical group that best exemplifies delivery of the highest quality health care in the United States. 

Mercy Clinics, Inc. operates health 

care facilities throughout the greater 

Des Moines area, and has a long history of innovation. The 2008 Acclaim 

Award is just the latest national recognition of Mercy’s exceptional commitment to high-quality patient care— 

something we deeply appreciate in 

Iowa. 

I prize my long-standing relationship 

with Mercy Medical Center in Des 

Moines, the partner of Mercy Clinics. I 

will be forever grateful to the Sisters 

of Mercy for providing care to my 

chronically ill father, many years ago, 

at a time when my family could not afford the costs of hospitalization. He received not only quality medical attention at Mercy, but also a generous 

measure of caring and kindness that 

remain the signature of Mercy Medical 

Center and Mercy Clinics to this day. 

The way that Mercy has retained these 

traditional human factors while providing state-of-the-art, 21st century 

clinical practice is obviously a winning 

formula—indeed, an award-winning formula. 

In presenting the award, the American Medical Group Association cited 

Mercy Clinics’ pioneering research into 

the best ways to care for people with 

chronic conditions such as diabetes and 

high blood pressure. The staff at Mercy 

Clinics created a program called ‘‘Medical Home,’’ which includes a team of 

‘‘Health Coaches’’ who review patients’ 

medical records and provide ongoing 

support for patients both face-to-face 

and over the phone, including advice on 

nutrition, exercise, and treatment 

management. Outcomes showed significant improvement in patient blood 

sugar and blood pressure control. 

I salute the visionary leadership of 

Dr. David Swieskowski, vice president 

for quality improvement for Mercy 

Clinics along with the partners who 

collaborated to make this project, not 

only successful, but a national award 

winner: Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue 

Shield provided grant funding to hire 

the first health coaches and whose 

‘‘pay for performance’’ program rewards population based care; the Iowa 

Foundation for Medical Care who provided the Care Measures Disease Registry; Des Moines University who collaborated on health coach education 

and certification; Pfizer who provided 

initial health coach training in patient 

self-management support; the Institute 

for Healthcare Improvement whose IMPACT program model helped Mercy 

Clinics shape their program; and New 

Health Partnerships who also provided 

grant assistance. I also commend the 

commitment to quality and excellence 

that pervades the entire family of 

Mercy health care professionals. 

I congratulate all of them for a job 

well done. I look forward to working 

with them—and benefiting from their 

counsel—as the new 111th Congress addresses health care reform, with a 

strong emphasis on wellness and prevention.∑ 

f 

TRIBUTE TO JOHN J. LEONE, JR. 

∑ Mr. LIEBERMAN. Madam President, 

today I wish to honor Mr. John J. 

Leone, Jr. of Bristol, CT. A dedicated 

public servant who has served his community for over 40 years, John will retire from his position as president and 

CEO of the Greater Bristol Chamber of 

Commerce at the end of the year. 

John has been head of the Greater 

Bristol Chamber of Commerce, the 

third largest chamber in Connecticut, 

for 18 years. Under his leadership, the 

chamber grew immensely, going from 

450 members to 1,820. John demonstrated a remarkable ability to bring 

people from all walks of life together 

behind a project. He played an integral 

role in securing State and Federal 

funding for the extension of route 72, 

which will help commuters in central 

Connecticut and provide a significant 

boost to merchants in downtown Bristol. 

John’s tenure with the chamber was 

the capstone of a lifetime spent serving 

Bristol. He was the mayor from 1984– 

1991, where he was elected to four 

terms. Before being elected mayor, he 

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