[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 23, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE CALIFORNIA PACIFIC MEDICAL CENTER

                                 ______


                         HON. RONALD V. DELLUMS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 23, 1996

  Mr. DELLUMS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express the profound appreciation 
felt by many of my constituents for the transplant physician team at 
the California Pacific Medical Center [CPMC] in San Francisco.
  The patients, their families, and their loved ones through their 
organization, the CPMC heart transplant support group, are gathering 
today for their 11th Annual Heart to Heart Gala. The gala celebrates 
their appreciation, and their gratitude, for the work, the 
extraordinary skill, and the love given by the CPMC heart transplant 
team. They celebrate as a way to acknowledge the gift of life and the 
gift in the improved quality of life received as a result of heart 
transplant surgery, a truly lifesaving procedure for many in the bay 
area. This form of extension of life is so awesome that there are few 
words that can adequately express their feelings of respect and 
gratitude for the exceptional CPMC physicians and support staff who 
have dedicated themselves to this cause.
  The first heart transplant at CPMC was performed in January 1984. 
Since that time, 20 to 25 transplants have been performed each year at 
CPMC, totaling over 250. The majority of candidates who receive a 
transplant have advanced disabling heart disease remediable by no other 
known therapy. The CPMC transplant physician staff, consisting of J. 
Donald Hill, M.D., chairman of the department of cardiac surgery; G. 
James Avery, M.D., transplant surgeon; Ernest Haensslein, M.D., medical 
director, heart transplant service, and James Hershon, M.D., director 
of the medical surgical intensive care unit, are to be commended for 
the exceptional skills, knowledge, compassion, and tireless efforts 
they routinely demonstrate while treating and caring for their 
patients.
  Although we are awed by the art of the transplant process and 
recognize the transplant team's exceptional knowledge and technical 
abilities, it is apparent that the high esteem in which the patients 
and their families hold this surgical team is due to the very special 
attentiveness and the love that they give throughout the arduous 
preoperation, operation and postoperation period. Such a combination of 
attributes is indeed rare and must be recognized.
  It is therefore a privilege for me to join with my constituents, and 
I invite you to join us, in recognizing, saluting, and honoring this 
exceptional group of professionals today.

                          ____________________