[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 16, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S7156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             NORWICH NATIVE SON, DR. WILLIAM R. WILSON JR.

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, few touch the lives of others in so 
personal a manner as doctors, and this relationship takes on an even 
more special meaning when the patients are children. Dr. William Wilson 
Jr. has worked to ensure that young children with severe heart ailments 
receive the very finest medical care available. He has been 
instrumental in advancing many of the recent breakthroughs in heart 
surgery, and it gives me great pleasure to recognize the achievements 
of this remarkable man as he is awarded the 1999 Norwich Native Son 
award for his work within the medical profession.
  The Norwich Native Son award is presented to that native of Norwich, 
Connecticut who has made significant contributions to his or her field 
outside of the state of Connecticut. As a pediatric cardiovascular 
surgeon in Missouri, Dr. Wilson has established himself as a leader 
within the medical profession and continues to enlighten the field with 
his knowledge and expertise. His innovative procedures are used 
throughout the country to educate new generations of doctors helping to 
ensure that this country remains a leader in medical advances.
  Born, raised, and educated in Norwich, Dr. Wilson ventured beyond 
Connecticut's borders to earn his bachelor's degree in biology from 
Kenyon College. He soon returned to the state to attend the University 
of Connecticut where he received his doctorate in anatomy and cell 
biology and, eventually, his medical degree in 1983.
  Currently making his home in Missouri, he is the Chief of Pediatric 
Cardiovascular Surgery at the Children's Hospital, University Hospital 
and Clinics in Columbia. It is at the University Hospital and Clinics 
that Dr. Wilson has changed hundreds of children's lives. Dr. Wilson 
performs delicate procedures on infants and young children with severe 
heart defects giving countless children an opportunity for healthy 
normal lives.
  Dr. Wilson began performing his advanced heart procedures while 
serving as the Chief of the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Division of the 
Medical College of Ohio in Toledo. Dr. Wilson's breakthrough techniques 
helped to transform the Medical College of Ohio into the regional 
leader in performing these surgeries. He has also expanded his work to 
include heart transplantation, and to date, he has performed this 
procedure on over 125 adults and children.
  Dr. Wilson has also distinguished himself internationally through 
several outreach programs. Twice he has organized mobile surgical teams 
and traveled to countries where these vital procedures are unavailable 
to those in need.
  In 1996, Dr. Wilson journeyed to Peru where he performed surgery on 
15 local children. He most recently led a medical mission to the 
children's hospital in Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia, where he 
operated on 11 children. Moreover, he has brought children from other 
countries to medical facilities in the United States to undergo surgery 
in modern hospitals. His humanitarian efforts have helped shed light on 
the over one million children worldwide who suffer from heart ailments 
and on the desperate need for these procedures in other countries.
  Mr. President, I take special pride, along with the Wilson family, in 
recognizing the wonderful accomplishments of Dr. William Wilson. While 
he may no longer live in Norwich, he has never forgotten the lessons 
learned from this close-knit community. Dr. William Wilson is being 
honored for his noble efforts within the medical field by friends and 
neighbors who fondly remember the spirited young boy who grew up in 
Norwich and who are so proud of the caring healer he has become. I wish 
him much success as he continues to leave his mark on the medical 
community, and I congratulate him for being honored with this most 
deserved award.

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