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[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 13, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E68-E69]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

BAY PINES VA HEALTHCARE SYSTEM RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY FOR EXCELLENCE IN 
                                SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. C. W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 13, 2009

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Madam Speaker, the Bay Pines VA Healthcare 
System, which I have the honor and privilege to represent, has been 
honored by the Department of Veterans Affairs with the very prestigious 
Robert W. Carey Performance Excellence Award.
  This is the highest honor given to a medical facility by the 
Department of Veterans Affairs and recognizes organizational excellence 
which translates in the highest quality of care for our nation's 
veterans and in this case those who receive their medical care through 
Bay Pines.
  This award confirms what I have always known--that the dedicated 
staff and volunteers at Bay Pines are the best in the VA system and 
provide our veterans with the quality of care we would expect and they 
so richly deserve.
  The Bay Pines VA Healthcare System is the 4th busiest of the 153 VA 
Medical Centers and provides services to 94,000 veterans per year at 
the Bay Pines medical center and at nine linked clinics. Based on the 
VA's performance criteria, including customer satisfaction surveys, Bay 
Pines ranks first among like sized facilities nationwide, first among 
Florida VA facilities, and fourth best in the nation for quality of 
care, access to care and customer satisfaction.
  Bay Pines is the only facility in Florida to receive the Carey Award, 
which is based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Criteria used 
by thousands of government and private organizations worldwide to 
assess and improve performance.
  Wallace M. Hopkins, the Director of the Bay Pines VA Healthcare 
System, leads a team of dedicated health care professionals and 
selfless volunteers who care for our veterans. They continually strive 
to improve the quality of care our veterans receive and are working on 
several projects which my colleagues and I on the Appropriations 
Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs have supported. These include the 
opening of a new and larger emergency room that will more than double 
the capacity for emergency care for veterans including emergency mental 
healthcare; a new radiation oncology center to provide veterans with 
state-of-the-art cancer treatment; a mental health center of excellence 
to include inpatient, outpatient and PTSD programs; a new and larger 
eye care clinic; and a new and larger ambulatory surgery center.

[[Page E69]]

  As the veterans population of Florida and the Tampa Bay area 
continues to grow, the staff at Bay Pines seeks to respond quickly to 
meet the increased demand for veterans medical care.
  Madam Speaker, representing Bay Pines and the veterans its serves is 
a great honor but also a great responsibility. It is reassuring to know 
that with receipt of the Carey Award for Excellence that Bay Pines 
continues to provide the highest level of care and that they never rest 
on their laurels as the staff and volunteers continue to search for new 
ways to improve the services they provide to our nation's heroes and 
their families. It is my hope that my colleagues will join me today in 
expressing to the staff and volunteers at Bay Pines our thanks and 
appreciation for a job well done.

                          ____________________
```