[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 119 (Thursday, September 10, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1691]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    A TRIBUTE TO ONE OF OREGON'S OWN

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                           HON. ROBERT SMITH

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 10, 1998

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
exemplary public servant whose roots lie in my home district in Oregon. 
For 30 years, Captain Richard E. Gross of Klamath Falls has served as a 
commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service. Assigned to the 
Food and Drug Administration in Rockville, Maryland, Captain Gross has 
been a leader in a number of collaborative programs between the federal 
government and the states designed to reduce medical radiation exposure 
and ensure the safe use of various medical devices.
  As with so many things in life that we take for granted and go 
unheralded, the job of keeping us safe is one that people like Captain 
Gross--``Dick'' to his colleagues--thankfully are committed to. 
Whenever we or someone we know has an x-ray to detect a bone fracture 
or diagnose a medical condition, we rarely think about how much 
radiation is used, how well the equipment is operating, or how 
proficient the person taking the x-ray is. For three decades, Captain 
Gross has made it his business to ensure that we don't have to think 
about these things--in other words, it's been his job to help see to it 
that x-ray examinations are performed safely and optimally. Trained as 
a health physicist at Oregon State University, Captain Gross has 
distinguished himself as a scientist, a program manager, a national 
policy strategist, and a highly respected technical advisor to 
radiological health officials in state governments throughout this 
country.
  In his tenure at the FDA, Captain Gross has spearheaded programs that 
have markedly reduced unnecessary radiation exposure from a wide range 
of commonly-performed x-ray procedures, including mammography, which we 
all know is a life saving diagnostic procedure that millions of 
American women undergo each year to pinpoint early-stage breast cancers 
or rule out the presence of the disease. He has been a driving force 
behind a host of federal-state programs designed to increase the safety 
and efficiency of x-ray producing equipment and the competency of those 
who conduct radiographic examinations. Captain Gross has also 
contributed significantly to the development of medical radiation 
safety regulations for use by state health agencies to ensure that x-
ray facilities, regardless of their location, provide x-ray services 
that are uniformly safe and effective. It would be no exaggeration to 
say that every state and virtually all x-ray facilities in our nation 
have been positively affected by the career-long efforts of Captain 
Gross.
  Captain Gross has applied these same skills to the field of medical 
devices. His knowledge of state health operation, coupled with his 
wide-ranging experience in modifying people's behavior through 
education, has had a profound effect on how safely and effectively 
medical diagnostic and therapeutic devices are used. In the area of 
renal dialysis, for example, Captain Gross showed remarkable leadership 
in helping forge a successful national strategy to upgrade the clinical 
practices of dialysis providers and the quality assurance controls 
designed to optimize the performance of dialysis treatment systems.
  Although American consumers may not know of Captain Gross' 
contributions to public health, his colleagues and superiors surely do. 
Throughout his illustrious career, he has received numerous awards from 
FDA and the Public Health Service, including the PHS Outstanding 
Service Medal, a PHS Commendation Medal, two PHS Outstanding Unit 
Citations, and a PHS Unit Commendation. And when his long career comes 
to a close this fall, Captain Gross will be recognized by the 
Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, an organization 
comprised of the heads of radiation protection agencies in all 50 
states.
  I want to add my congratulations to Captain Gross and wish him the 
very best in his retirement years in our beloved state of Oregon. Well 
done and welcome home!

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