[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 30 (Friday, March 15, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S1973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PASSING OF JOHN M. EISENBERG

 Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, John Eisenberg, director of the 
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, AHRQ, succumbed to a brain 
tumor this past Sunday. Although John had battled his illness for 
months, his death was a disturbing shock to many. He had done so much 
to improve healthcare in this Nation, and I know there was much more he 
wanted to do. Still, John leaves a legacy--both professional and 
personal--so large that it cannot and will not be forgotten.
  John Eisenberg was an outstanding public servant. He did not play 
partisan politics. Nor could he be corrupted by power. Simply put, he 
was passionate about people. It was his mission to improve the quality 
of health care in America. He dedicated his life to that mission as the 
director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, as a 
founder of the Congressional Physician Payment Review Commission, and 
as a member and leader of countless other societies, associations, and 
institutes. For John, public service was more than his job; it was his 
life's calling, which he answered with distinction and excellence.
  I consider myself privileged to have worked with John Eisenberg for 
many years and on many issues. He taught me so much not just about 
improving the quality of healthcare, but about being a leader by 
transforming the way people think about issues and institutions. I know 
he had an impact on leaders in all branches of government, and men and 
women at all levels of government respected him. And as for the medical 
community: John was one of them. I have heard this often and, even with 
the event of his passing, I still hear it today.
  As a physician, John Eisenberg saved the lives of many. As a leader, 
he enhanced the lives of millions. As a friend, he touched the lives of 
us all. The largeness of his life and legacy will endure in our 
memories and warm our hearts for many years to come. John Eisenberg 
will be known as more than one of the good ones, but one of the best 
there ever was and ever will be.

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