[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 35 (Thursday, March 24, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 24, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      TRIBUTE TO EMMETT R. JOHNSON

 Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. 
Emmett R. Johnson, president emeritus of the Baptist Health System 
[BHS].
  As a student at North Texas State University, Emmett Johnson was 
determined to become a Baptist hospital administrator. Now, more than 
four decades later, Mr. Johnson has retired as president of the Baptist 
Health System, the State of Alabama's largest health care system. 
Emmett Johnson has developed a system of health care facilities that 
include Montclair Baptist Medical Center [BMC] and Princeton BMC, both 
in Birmingham, Dekalb BMC in Fort Payne, Cherokee BMC in Centre and 
Citizens BMC in Talladega, AL.
  His determination to deliver quality health care to rural areas is 
evidenced by the BHS contracts to manage or affiliate with county and 
community hospitals in rural areas, saving the hospitals money through 
BHS' volume purchasing and sharing BHS expertise in physician 
recruitment, employee development, marketing and communications.
  Since Mr. Johnson's arrival at Baptist Health System in 1975, major 
additions to both Birmingham hospitals have been completed, new 
hospitals have been constructed in Centre and Fort Payne, four 
professional office buildings have been built in Birmingham and one 
office building has been constructed in Fort Payne. Adding to the list 
of accomplishments, two retirement high rise buildings have been 
completed adjacent to Princeton BMC and Galleria Woods, a full-service, 
planned retirement community, has also been constructed in the 
Birmingham area.
  The first accredited hospice programs in Alabama for terminally ill 
patients and their families were developed at BHS by Emmett Johnson. 
The two hospice programs have now served more than 4,000 patients and 
their families and are models for new programs across the country.
  Also, under Mr. Johnson's direction, both Birmingham hospitals 
established cancer programs, designated by the American College of 
Surgeons as Comprehensive Community Cancer Centers, offering a full 
range of screening, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. The 
Alabama Heart Institute at Montclair BMC has gained regional prominence 
and shares the expertise of its physicians with many rural areas 
through the Alabama Coordinated Cardiac Emergency Support System 
[ACCESS], a team approach between Montclair and rural hospitals. With 
the latest treatments and techniques, ACCESS allows Montclair 
physicians to offer a quick response to heart attack victims in rural 
areas. Across the city of Birmingham, at Princeton BMC, the Princeton 
Heart Institute is equipped to perform heart transplants and is a 
leader in laser angioplasty.
  Adding to his accomplishments, Emmett Johnson was instrumental in 
making Monclair BMC the State's first hospital to use the Percutaneous 
Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty procedure, a special procedure to 
open clogged arteries using a heart catheter and a small balloon 
catheter. Under his guidance, the State's first accredited sleep 
disorders center and the first Mitral Valve Prolapse Center in the 
Nation were established at Montclair BMC. Moreover, Montclair BMC now 
has the Ford Headache Clinic, one of the few programs in the country 
dedicated to treating severe headaches.

  Under Emmett Johnson's watch in 1986, Alabama's first hospital unit 
was dedicated specifically to the treatment and care of bone marrow 
transplant patients at Princeton BMC. The unit provides nursing care by 
a specially trained staff for patients undergoing bone marrow 
transplantation and is one of only about 50 in the country.
  In his years at the helm of the Baptist Health System, Emmett Johnson 
demonstrated an uncanny ability to foresee problems and move to solve 
them. A major problem facing the hospital industry is the critical 
shortage of nurses. Under Mr. Johnson's guidance, BHS has been a major 
source of nurses for the Birmingham area, jointly operating the Ida V. 
Moffett School of Nursing with Samford University.
  Emmett Johnson has worked diligently to make the Baptist Health 
System an integral part of the Alabama community and has taken 
leadership roles in a number of organizations that contribute to that 
effort. He has served as cochairman of the United Way of Central 
Alabama; has been a member of the Rotary Club of Birmingham; and, has 
served two terms on the board of directors of the Birmingham Area 
Chamber of Commerce. He also was a member of the Better Business Bureau 
and has served on the board of the Salvation Army.
  Emmett Johnson's expertise in the health care field has not gone 
unnoticed by his colleagues. In 1984, Northwestern University awarded 
him the Laura Jackson Award in recognition of his outstanding 
leadership in hospital administration. Also, in 1986, he received the 
Award of Merit from the American Protestant Hospital Association.
  There have been few leaders in the health care industry who combine a 
deep commitment to the health care industry and a ministry to the sick 
with a track record of financial and market performance as Mr. Johnson 
has demonstrated over the past 45 years. Under his guidance, the 
Baptist Health System of Birmingham, AL has become one of the premier 
regional health care systems in the Nation and the largest provider of 
health care services in Alabama. I want to congratulate Mr. Johnson and 
wish him well as he retires from Baptist Health System.

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