[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 24, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S4374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT GENERAL RONALD R. BLANCK

 Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I would like to recognize the 
exceptionally distinguished service of Lieutenant General Ronald R. 
Blanck, United States Army, who has distinguished himself as the Army's 
39th Surgeon General and Commander, U.S. Army Medical Command General, 
from 1 October 1996 to 31 August 2000.
  In addition to serving as the principal medical staff advisor to the 
Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Blanck also serves as Commander 
of the United States Army Medical Command, which administers a 6.6 
billion-dollar worldwide-integrated health care system with 46,000 
military personnel and 26,000 civilian employees. During his tenure, 
Lieutenant General Blanck concentrated on three major areas, readiness, 
quality of healthcare, and innovation, to ensure the provision of 
comprehensive, quality healthcare to soldiers, retirees, and their 
family members. Lieutenant General Blanck implemented a new set of 
combat support training standards; energized the Army's Medical 
Reengineering Initiative; and organized an array of Special Medical 
Augmentation Response Teams to provide global, rapid-deployment 
capabilities for local, state and federal agencies. He provided 
oversight for the Defense Department Anthrax Vaccine Immunization 
Program; and established a successful, Army-wide Medical Protection 
System to track all immunization data. In addition, he established new 
partnerships with civilian trauma centers to provide appropriate hands-
on training and experience for military surgical trauma teams.
  Lieutenant General Blanck has been a leader in the development and 
use of clinical practice guidelines and helped implement the Department 
of Defense clinical practice guidelines partnership with the Department 
of Veterans Affairs. As a direct result of his initiatives, Army 
medical treatment facilities have been accredited by the Joint 
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), with 
scores consistently above 90, the highest in the history of the Army 
Medical Department, with three prestigious Army hospitals receiving 
perfect scores of 100 on their JCAHO surveys during the past year. 
Lieutenant General Blanck has championed the use of modern technologies 
by the Department of Defense and the Army Medical Department. He 
supported an innovative Simulation Center initiative, and promoted the 
dissemination of information about chemical and biological terrorism. 
He has also enthusiastically advocated the introduction of new, 
advanced technologies into patient care, including: (1) the Medical 
Personal Information Carrier which stores soldiers' medical and 
personal information, (2) a dry fibrin sealant bandage, developed by 
Army research in cooperation with the American Red Cross, (3) multiple 
and extensive uses of telemedicine, (4) new initiatives to speed 
evacuation of wounded soldiers from the battlefield.
  Mr. President, Lieutenant General Blanck is a great credit to the 
Army and the Nation. Even with all of the extraordinary accomplishments 
during his thirty-two years of service, General Blanck will be 
remembered mostly for his great compassion for people, his loyalty to 
his country and his inspirational leadership.

                          ____________________