[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 115 (Thursday, September 6, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1607-E1608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


50TH ANNIVERSARY OF SERVICE FOR VALLEY HOSPITAL IN RIDGWOOD, NEW JERSEY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARGE ROUKEMA

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 6, 2001

  Ms. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Valley 
Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on the momentous occasion of their 
50th anniversary of service to northern New Jersey. From a small and 
difficult beginning, the Valley Hospital has become a premier example 
of quality and commitment to medical excellence. This weekend, in 
celebration of their golden anniversary, the Valley Hospital ``Old 
Fashioned Fair'' will be held in the town of Ridgewood.
  This remarkable hospital was once only a dream for the northwest New 
Jersey community. However, due to the perseverance of a small group of 
concerned community members, this vision of a hospital was transformed 
into a reality. Plans began nearly forty years before ground was even 
broken. In 1910, community groups gathered to raise money for a 
hospital, however the stock market crash and the Great Depression 
stalled their attempts. With the leadership of the Women's Auxiliary in 
1944, local residents rallied again to donate almost $1,000,000 to 
break ground in 1949. Today we are able to congratulate the Valley 
Hospital on fifty years of outstanding service to northwest New Jersey. 
A passage from The Sunday News, dated June 19, 1951, illuminates the 
struggle and success of the hospital:

       There has been discouragement and heartache, delay and 
     disappointment. There have been set-backs of every 
     conceivable variety during these years of construction but 
     now at long last, comes the fulfillment of the dream--a 
     community hospital completely equipped with every facility 
     that modern medicine and modern science have developed, ready 
     to take its place along with the best in the country in 
     caring for those who are ill.

  In August of 1951, the first patient walked through the doors of the 
Valley Hospital. That first year, over 4,000 patients entered those 
doors. In the following fifty years, the Valley Hospital expanded to 
meet the constantly changing needs of the growing community and 
implemented cutting-edge technology. Last year, the hospital 
administered to 42,540 patients and welcomed 3,221 babies. Thirty-five 
physicians of the Valley Hospital were named in the ``Best Doctors in 
New York'' list of the New York Magazine this year; a list compiled by 
their peers throughout regions of New Jersey, New York, and 
Connecticut. This month the Valley Health System, the hospital's 
umbrella organization, will be the nation's first health provider to 
feature Mayo Clinic health information on their website. As one can 
tell, this is a phenomenal group of people involved with the hospital.
  The Valley Hospital has risen to preeminence on the national level in 
health care

[[Page E1608]]

and medical technology for its patients. Under Mike Azzara's guidance 
as Chairman of Valley Health Systems, and Audrey Meyer's leadership as 
President and CEO of the Valley Hospital, the hospital has entered the 
21st century as a premier provider of health care in not only New 
Jersey but the entire Northeast United States.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to 
join me in commending the Valley Hospital for its service to the 
community in the past fifty years, and recognizing those committed to 
continuing its tradition of excellence in the future.

                          ____________________