[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 23, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H4972-H4973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
              COMMENDING THE HARBIN CLINIC, ROME, GEORGIA

  (Mr. BARR of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, in 1897, William Pickens Harbin, 
M.D., later known as Dr. Will, accepted his brother's offer to join his 
surgical practice in Rome, Georgia.
  Shortly after arriving in Rome in 1898 and borrowing money from his 
brother to begin his medical practice, Dr. Will left Rome to accept a 
commission as acting assistant surgeon in the United States Army during 
the Spanish-American War. He saved his military pay, repaid his 
brother's loan, and returned to Rome after the war in 1901.
  The first practice location for the two Harbin brothers was on the 
second floor of the building at 206 Broad Street in Rome. Prospective 
patients would shout up from the sidewalk to learn if one or both 
doctors were in before walking up the long staircase. The cost of an 
office visit was usually $1 and home visits ranged from $2 to $3.

[[Page H4973]]

  Mr. Speaker, today the Harbin Clinic staff includes 112 physicians, 
representing 27 medical specialties. This Sunday, the 28th of June, 
1998, they will hold a ceremony in honor of the clinic's 50th 
anniversary.
  I am proud to salute the Harbin Clinic for all it does to serve our 
community and heal our citizens.

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