[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 158 (Wednesday, November 10, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2343]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING DR. EDOUARD JOSEPH HAZEL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 9, 1999

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Edouard Joseph 
Hazel, an international leader in medicine.
  Edouard Joseph Hazel was born on November 10, 1951, in Port-au-
Prince, Haiti, the third largest Caribbean country. Dr. Hazel went to 
private schools and joined the School of Medicine of the State 
University of Haiti. He graduated in 1975, and moved to the United 
States where he obtained his Board Certification in Internal Medicine 
and Infectious Disease.
  Dr. Hazel is currently the Acting Chief of the Department of Medicine 
of Coler Hospital, where he was instrumental in establishing the first 
long-term program for patients infected with the HIV virus. In spite of 
his busy schedule with this municipal hospital, Dr. Hazel is also 
completing a term as the President of the New York State Chapter of the 
Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad, and is the current general 
secretary for the national committee of this organization of some 2,000 
American physicians.
  Dr. Hazel is at the forefront of the movement that ultimately 
defeated discriminatory policies and practices of the FDA and the CDC 
against Haitian Americans who were singled out as the carriers of the 
HIV virus. During his tenure, he visited the U.S. Base of Guantanamo, 
Cuba, where HIV-infected Haitian refugees were held and helped 
articulate the legal argument to ensure that this group received 
appropriate medical care. He was also one of the first scientists who 
recognized the danger that the HIV virus could represent for people of 
color all over the world.
  Dr. Hazel also understands the importance of coalition building and 
works closely with numerous organizations such as the Hispanic American 
Physician Association, the Providence Society, the local chapter of the 
National Medical Association, and the Caribbean Health Association, to 
name a few. Dr. Hazel is also the current Director of the Visiting 
Physician Program of the Health and Hospital Corporation at Coler 
Goldwater Hospital, a program that has provided extensive training in 
the diagnosis and the management of transmissible diseases to 
physicians practicing in the Dominican Republic.
  Fully aware of the changes taking place in the health care industry, 
Dr. Hazel has been vehemently working to increase the participation of 
minority professionals in shaping a better health care system.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like you and my colleagues from both sides of 
the aisle to join me in honoring Dr. Edouard Joseph Hazel.

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