Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions
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By Mr. DURBIN:
S. 234. A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2105 East Cook Street in Springfield, Illinois, as the ``Colonel John H. Wilson, Jr. Post Office Building''; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce legislation to designate the United States Post Office at 2105 East Cook Street in Springfield, IL, as the ``Colonel John H. Wilson, Jr. Post Office Building,'' honoring the first African-American to achieve the rank of Colonel in the Illinois Reserves.
Colonel John H. Wilson, Jr., was born on December 28, 1918, in Springfield, IL. In 1942, he enlisted in World War II and served in five battle campaigns in Europe, including in General Patton's advance in France, for which he was awarded the Silver Star Medal.
In addition to his 14 years of active duty service, he served for 17 years in the Illinois Reserves. He served as group commander in Springfield from 1967-1973 and was promoted to Colonel in 1965, making him the first African-American to achieve that rank in the Illinois Reserves at that time. Upon his retirement in 1973, he was awarded the Legion of Merit from the Army.
In his civilian life, Col. Wilson worked for the United States Postal Service for 57 years. From time to time, he would stop by my office in Springfield to share news about our local post office and make sure our mail was being delivered on time. Whenever he could, he would stop by to see me in Washington.
Anyone who knew Col. Wilson also knew of his love for the Reserves. He was a life member of the U.S. Reserve Officers Association, President of the ROA Springfield Chapter from 1960-61 and President of the ROA Illinois Department from 1971-72.
He was also a commercial photographer, member of the Military Officers of America, and lifelong member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.
He died on August 30, 2008, in the same home of his birth. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Lydie, and their two daughters, Shirley Wilson and Chantal Sneed.
Col. Wilson was a distinguished man of service. My hometown of Springfield, IL and our Nation is a better place because of his lifelong commitment to his country.
I am grateful to Springfield Mayor Timothy Davlin, former Illinois National Guard Adjutant General Lou Myers, and the local branch of the American Postal Workers Union for their support of this legislation. I hope my colleagues will join me in enacting this tribute to Col. Wilson.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD
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By Mr. DURBIN:
S. 246. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the quality of care provided to veterans in Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities, to encourage highly qualified doctors to serve in hard-to-fill positions in such medical facilities, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in the fall of 2007, at least nine veterans died at the Marion VA Medical Center as a result of the poor medical care they received. We immediately learned that a VA surgeon, who had operated on some of these veterans, was not qualified to work at the VA but slipped through the hiring process. Later, VA investigations revealed much larger problems in the management of the facility--problems that employees kept secret out of fear for losing their jobs. Today, I am reintroducing legislation to help ensure that incidents like these never take place again at Marion or another VA medical center.
I asked the VA to investigate the circumstances surrounding these unfortunate deaths as soon as they came to light. The VA investigation revealed that Marion hospital management knew that doctors, including the surgeon at issue, were not properly credentialed but failed to act. The surgeon remained employed at the Marion hospital and practiced there for more than a year. Had he not been hired to work at Marion, many of his patients may have survived their surgeries.
The VA investigation revealed additional quality of care issues at the Marion hospital. Management disregarded VA quality care directives in the face of serious patient incident reports and surgical data collected to ensure quality of care. They ignored or failed to recognize warning signs that there were problems in the surgical program.
The investigation also showed many Marion Medical Center employees feared reporting quality of care issues. They worried that quality of care might be suffering at the facility but hesitated to report those concerns for fear of losing their jobs. A primary reason is that such reports were funneled through management at the facility, rather than being handled by an independent and confidential outlet focused solely on quality of care.
The legislation I am introducing would improve quality of care across the VA medical care system.
First, it would improve the process of vetting doctors who apply to or work for the VA and restore accountability to physician hiring and retention practices.
Second, the legislation would expand the quality control programs in the VA health care system. The bill creates new quality assurance officer positions, gives VA employees new forums to raise concerns about the quality of care at a VA facility, without fear of retribution, and establishes strong peer review mechanisms for physicians.
Third, the legislation would create incentives to encourage high-quality doctors to practice at VA hospitals. In return for agreeing to practice in hard-to-serve areas, doctors and medical students could participate in student loan forgiveness and tuition reimbursement programs. Doctors would also be eligible to participate in the federal employee health insurance program.
Fourth, where practical, VA medical facilities would be required to establish affiliations with nearby medical schools. These partnerships would expose medical students to careers with the VA. In return, the VA would benefit from the energy and innovative ideas brought by students working in their facilities. In addition, VA hospitals would benefit from access to experienced medical school faculty members.
Finally, the bill would encourage the VA to increase its recruitment of experienced doctors who are willing to practice for our veterans. The VA must hire and retain only highly qualified doctors as it takes on these tremendous responsibilities.
Every one of the tragic deaths at the Marion VA hospital violated the obligation our Nation owes to its veterans. Each of their lives can never be replaced. The Veterans Health Care Quality Improvement Act is a strong step toward avoiding such tragedies in the future and reestablishing trust in the veterans health care system.
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