[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 48 (Thursday, April 28, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  A TRIBUTE TO DR. STANLEY ROUSONELOS

                                 ______


                       HON. GEORGE E. SANGMEISTER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 28, 1994

  Mr. SANGMEISTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a truly 
unique individual, a good friend of mine and a great American--Dr. 
Stanley Rousonelos of Joliet.
  Dr. Rousonelos, who will be honored as the 1994 Citizen of the Year 
by the Joliet chapter of UNICO on May 14, has a record of professional 
and public service to his community that is truly unmatched.
  Dr. Stan, as everyone calls him, was born and raised in Joliet. For 
37 years he was the family doctor in town, providing care to thousands 
and thousands of residents--including the more than 3,000 he helped 
bring into the world.
  Not only did Dr. Stan's patients appreciate his plain spoken manner 
and keen sense of humor, but so did his peers. He was elected chief of 
staff of St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet and president of the Will 
County Medical Society.
  Now retired from practice, Dr. Stan has undertaken even bigger 
challenges in serving his community. He was a driving force in 
establishing the Will-Grundy Medical Clinic in 1987 to help the 14,000 
residents of Will and Grundy Counties that are medically underserved. 
At the time of its incorporation, the free clinic was only one of three 
such facilities in the United States. It has since served as a model 
for similar programs across the country.
  In addition to serving on the board of directors of the clinic and 
recruiting his peers to volunteer their time there, Dr. Stan regularly 
staffs the facility, providing sorely needed health services to those 
who can least afford them.
  He also was instrumental in the passage of State legislation that 
made it easier for physicians to volunteer at facilities like the Will-
Grundy Medical Clinic, paving the way for creation of smaller 
facilities across the State.
  Although his work on the clinic may be Dr. Stan's greatest 
contribution to his community, there are few worthy causes in Joliet in 
which he is not somehow involved.
  He is: a member of the board and immediate past president of the 
Joliet Area Community Hospice; president of the advisory board of the 
Catholic Charities' Senior Companion program; a board member of 
Daybreak, a local homeless-assistance organization; vice president of 
the Joliet Junior College Foundation; on the governing board of St. 
Joseph Medical Center; a member of my Health Care Advisory Committee; 
and a widely sought after lecturer on such public health issues as 
AIDS. Why does a man who has certainly earned the relaxation of 
retirement insist on a schedule of helping others that would tire a man 
half his age?
  Because, as a former patient put it so well, ``He cares.''
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my friend Dr. Stan on this well-deserved 
honor, and I wish him many more productive and enjoyable years, both 
public and private.

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