[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 44 (Tuesday, April 21, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CHICAGO ORGANIZATION STRIVES TO HELP HOSPITALS CUT HEALTH CARE COSTS

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                        HON. ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 21, 1998

  Mr. BLAGOJEVICH. Mr. Speaker, all of us in this body are rightfully 
concerned about the rising cost and quality of health care for our 
constituents. I rise today to share with my colleagues an effort 
undertaken by a group in my Congressional District in Chicago that I 
believe is an an important step forward in our nation's goal of 
providing all of our citizens with quality health care at affordable 
prices.
  As you know, technological advances in medical care are occurring 
virtually every day as scientists, physicians, health care 
manufacturers and institutions combine their vast talents and energies 
to find cures for all that ails humanity. As a result, the quality of 
health care available in our hospitals is at an all time high; a level 
that would have been the stuff of fiction only a few years ago. 
Advances in organ transplants, laser surgery, drug therapy, physical 
rehabilitation and scores of other areas have led to longer and more 
enjoyable lives for millions of our citizens. But the miracles of 
medicine often come at a daunting price tag for families and working 
Americans. This rising cost is a challenge that faces us in this body 
every day.
  None of us wants to return to the less effective medical treatment 
procedures of the past. We want to take full advantage of the better 
treatment plans that are available. We must be concerned that all 
efforts are made to ensure that our health care delivery systems are 
operating at peak efficiency. Our hospitals and other health care 
facilities must rise to the challenge of advancing the frontiers of 
medical treatment while not pricing the average Americans out of that 
quality care.
  A vital step in this process is to enhance the management skills of 
those who hold supervisory positions in health care. To this end, a new 
book has just been published by the International Association of Health 
Care Central Service Material Management, in my Congressional District, 
entitled: Supervision Principles: Leadership Strategies for Health Care 
Facilities, Second Edition. This book offers health care managers a 
guide to assist them in personal situations from selecting the best 
applicants to resolving conflicts to building a cohesive team that will 
strive to answer all patients' needs in a professional, efficient and 
cost effective manner. It emphasizes modern management techniques as 
Total Quality Management and provides real world answers to combat 
waste and inefficiency, with the net result that hospitals are in a 
better position to check the rising cost of health care without 
sacrificing quality of care that all of our constituents rely upon.
  Progress in health care is something we all want to see continue. By 
having better prepared health care managers who can rise above the 
daily chores they now face to address the larger issues of bringing the 
advancement of medicine to every American, we will reap the benefits of 
a healthier, happier nation. I applaud the International Association of 
Hospital Central Service Material Management for putting forth this 
constructive work and for helping in our job of working toward a more 
responsive health care system for all Americans.

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