[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 163 (Thursday, November 29, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2167-E2168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  WILLIAM WINKENWERDER, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR HEALTH CARE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES H. TAYLOR

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 29, 2001

  Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, America's armed service 
members, their families and military retirees can rest easier today 
knowing that Dr. William Winkenwerder has been sworn in as Assistant 
Secretary of Defense for Health Care. A western North Carolina native, 
Dr. Winkenwerder brings fittingly broad experience and an impressive 
record of achievement to this important position. All Americans can be 
proud that Dr. Winkenwerder has agreed to serve his nation yet once 
again. The Asheville Citizen-Times' Tim Reid recently penned a profile 
of Dr. Winkenwerder, which I am glad to share with my colleagues.

      Winkenwerder Top Healthcare Official for Defense Department

                             (By Tim Reid)

       Asheville.--Growing up in Asheville in a family well known 
     for its successful hotels, William Winkenwerder seemed 
     destined to enter the hospitality industry like his brother, 
     John. But he liked science and helping people and figured 
     medicine was a good way to combine those interests. Some time 
     during his years of medical school, residency and private 
     practice, Dr. Winkenwerder also discovered he was drawn to 
     the public policy side of medicine, designing and 
     administering systems to deliver quality health care as 
     efficiently as possible.
       ``Even though I very much enjoyed taking care of patients, 
     I developed an interest in how the system of health care 
     worked, or didn't work in some cases,'' he said.
       After years of high-level jobs related to providing health 
     services, Winkenwerder is using all his experience and 
     expertise to help protect the health of America's armed 
     services, their families and military retirees. He was sworn 
     in recently as assistant secretary of defense for health 
     care--the Defense Department's top health-care official. It 
     is a big job, and the numbers are staggering. Winkenwerder 
     manages the nation's $25 billion defense health program, 
     whose 110,000 staffers see to the health needs of more than 8 
     million people around the world.
       ``It's an incredible responsibility. I am honored to have 
     the opportunity to serve in this kind of position,'' he said. 
     ``We have wonderful people in the military. They are 
     extremely dedicated, hard working and bright.''
       Winkenwerder assumed the job at a critical time as the 
     military prepares for a sustained effort against terrorism.
       ``We have to look at the whole range of biological agents 
     that could pose a threat and develop a strategy for all of 
     them,'' he said. ``That could include not just anthrax but 
     also smallpox, the plague and all the things we believe could 
     be used.''
       Winkenwerder faces the same challenges posed to any health 
     care executive--assuring quality care while keeping costs at 
     an acceptable level. He is not responsible for the nation's 
     VA hospitals but does oversee the Tricare program that 
     functions like an insurance program, paying for care through 
     the public or private sector.


                            THE EARLY YEARS

       Winkenwerder said he has a soft spot in his heart for 
     Asheville and visits family members here three or four times 
     a year. They include his father, William Winkenwerder Sr. of 
     Asheville, and his mother Martha Baker Loew, also of 
     Asheville. His brother John Winkenwerder is managing partner 
     of the Asheville area Hampton Inns.
       ``It was a great experience growing up there and working 
     for my father,'' he said. ``He gave me a real appreciation 
     for work and for serving people.''
       But it was Winkenwerder's family physician, Dr. Roger 
     James, who sparked his early interest in medicine.
       ``He was a wonderful man who died recently,'' Winkenwerder 
     recalled. ``He was my doctor and a leader in my church. I was 
     just impressed with what he did for people.''
       He said another role model was orthopedic surgeon Dr. Wayne 
     Montgomery. ``He was mayor of Asheville at the time, and I 
     liked that idea of combining medicine and public service.''
       Winkenwerder also worked summers as an orderly at St. 
     Joseph's Hospital, where he got to know many physicians such 
     as Dr. David Cappiello, another orthopedic surgeon. After 
     graduation from Asheville High School, Winkenwerder went to 
     Davidson College on a football scholarship, enrolling in its 
     pre-med program. After Davidson came eight years of medical 
     school and residency in internal medicine at the University 
     of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, during which Winkenwerder's 
     career interests began to change.
       ``I decided I really did want to delve into this whole area 
     of health care policy and health care economics and public 
     health,'' he said. ``I decided business school was a good way 
     to do that.''
       Winkenwerder attended the University of Pennsylvania's 
     Wharton School and at the same time completed a fellowship in 
     public health and research at the university's hospital. 
     During the summer of 1986 he worked at the Department of 
     Health and Human Resources and got a taste for government 
     that has never really left him. The following year 
     Winkenwerder was asked to come back and work in the Health 
     Care Financing Administration, which operates the Medicare 
     and Medicaid programs.
       ``I worked there about two years, until the end of the 
     Reagan administration'' he said. ``I got into that whole 
     world of how the health care system should be structured.''
       Yearning to use his skills as a doctor, Winkenwerder joined 
     a group practice in Atlanta. He worked there for five years, 
     seeing firsthand how managed care was changing the practice 
     of medicine. Winkenwerder then began a series of high-level 
     jobs in diverse aspects of the health care system. They 
     included stints as: regional vice president and chief medical 
     officer for Prudential Health Care; regional quality 
     assurance and associate medical director for Kaiser 
     Permanente; and vice president for Emory Health Care at Emory 
     University.
       Then Winkenwerder moved to Boston to take the number two 
     post as vice chairman of Blue Cross Blue Shield of 
     Massachusetts. When his desire to advance to the top post did 
     not materialize, he decided to return to government service. 
     Winkenwerder talked to friends and colleagues in Washington 
     and

[[Page E2168]]

     spent several months being interviewed and scrutinized for 
     the job at the Department of Defense. He was nominated by 
     President Bush after an extensive FBI background check. The 
     Armed Services Committee approved Winkenwerder's nomination 
     Oct. 16, and he was sworn into office Oct. 30.
       ``My goals are pretty simple,'' he said. ``I want to 
     protect the health of the people who are in the service, 
     making sure especially that we are ready for chemical or 
     biological attacks.
       ``I want to improve Tricare, managing costs and improving 
     service and quality,'' he said. ``And I want to improve our 
     relationships with other entities like Congress, the VA 
     system and the Department of Health and Human Services.'' 
     Winkenwerder's wife, Pride and 10-year-old son, Will are 
     staying in Boston until the end of the school year, when they 
     will join him in Washington. In the meantime, he is working 
     12-hour days in his office at the Pentagon. Winkenwerder is 
     excited to be in a job where he can use his years of 
     experience and preparation to, perhaps, make a difference.
       ``I would just hope that in some way, by being an effective 
     leader, I can help improve health care for an important group 
     of people who serve our nation,'' he said.

     

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