[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 9 (Monday, February 7, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E72-E73]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRATULATING NEWTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARGE ROUKEMA

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 7, 2000

  Mrs. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Newton Memorial 
Hospital in Newton, New Jersey, on the completion of an ambitious and 
much needed $10 million expansion project. The newly expanded 
facilites--including a new operating room, expanded outpatient 
facilities and upgraded cardiac rehabilitation facilities--will allow 
this excellent health care facility to continue its long tradition of 
offering Sussex County residents advanced medical treatment in their 
own community.
  Despite the unfortunate trend in health care today toward downsizing 
and consolidation, Newton Memorial Hospital is expanding. In doing so, 
it is realigning more than its bricks and mortar--it is adopting a new 
philosophy of being ``health oriented'' rather than ``disease 
oriented.'' With this expansion, Newton has renewed its commitment to 
providing patients with excellent care and a continuous system of 
health resources.
  These advances come under the outstanding leadership of Chairman E. 
Jane Brown and President Dennis Collette. These two dedicated 
individuals possess a commitment to quality of patient care and 
community service that sets the standard for the entire staff. Special 
recognition should also go to the Newton Memorial Hospital Foundation, 
whose fund-raising efforts made the expansion possible.
  Newton Memorial Hospital traces its origins to 1926, when local 
resident Thomas E. Murray bequeathed a portion of his estate to ``the 
establishment in Newton of a hospital that would accept persons of all 
creeds and religious denominations and provide equal privileges and 
accommodations for all.'' Mr. Murray's gift and the proceeds of a 
$500,000 found-raising campaign allowed the Newton Hospital Association 
to open the original 40-bed hospital in 1932.
  Rapid increases in the use of the hospital led to repeated expansions 
over the decades, bring the hospital to its current size of 165 beds. 
Today, Newton Memorial is a state-of-the-art medical center providing 
inpatient and outpatient services to more than 140,000 residents of 
Sussex and northern Warren counties. With more than 150 physicians and 
800 employees, it treats nearly 10,000 patients a year and its 
maternity ward delivers more than 1,000 babies.
  The hospital this week marks the completion of the final phase of its 
latest expansion, a three-phase program conducted over the past year. 
Phase III included the construction of a fourth operating room and 
expansion of the three existing operating rooms. The earlier work 
included 18 new ambulatory surgical units and an upgrade of cardiac 
rehabilitation facilities.
  I have always tried to reflect the priorities of my constituents. We 
in America have always put health and safety first. Here, on this 
occasion, we see that principle in action. Mr. Speaker, a local 
hospital is one of the most important and fundamental essential 
services a community offers, as vital as a police or fire department of 
infrastructure such as water, sewer and roads. Newton Memorial Hospital 
has gone far beyond providing its patients with ``basic'' services. It 
is a first-class medical center where area residents can rest assured 
they will receive the finest medical treatment available.
  Our nation has always set the highest priority on the most advanced 
medical care in the world. Newton Memorial is maintaining its position 
as one of the fundamental foundations of that health care system.

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