[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 25, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DR. JAMES WITHERS IN ADDRESSING THE 
         HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF PITTSBURGH'S HOMELESS POPULATION

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                         HON. MICHAEL F. DOYLE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 24, 2002

  Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the work of Dr. 
James Withers, the Director of Operation Safety Net in Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania. Dr. Withers recently received national recognition from 
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Community Health Leadership 
Program. The prestigious award includes a $120,000 grant to provide 
additional funding for his program.
  Dr. Withers, a Forest Hills internist and member of Mercy Hospital's 
medical and teaching staffs, founded Operation Safety Net to address 
the health care needs of Pittsburgh's homeless population. The program 
partners volunteer medical professionals and medical students with 
former homeless people to provide medical care to the city's 
unsheltered homeless.
  Dr. Withers launched Operation Safety Net in 1993, after spending 
almost a year visiting Pittsburgh's streets dressed as a homeless 
person to learn about their health care needs. He and a friend walked 
down countless dark streets, alleys, and abandoned buildings to find 
people in need of medical care. He even carried his medical supplies in 
a backpack to ease their concerns.
  Now, the 16 Operation Safety Net teams of volunteers, students and 
former homeless, do much the same, searching out those in need of care. 
Dr. Withers, or ``Doc Jim'' as he is known on the street, still walks 
with the teams several nights a week.
  The project now provides care for about 900 patients annually--the 
majority are substance abusers and many suffer from mental illness.
  In addition to helping Pittsburgh's unsheltered homeless population, 
Operation Safety Net also offers a valuable experience for the medical 
students and residents who participate as volunteers--giving them a 
hands-on lesson in caring for disadvantaged patients.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Dr. James Withers for this 
national award and express my gratitude for his determination and 
leadership. His lesson reaches well beyond the medical students and 
residents who volunteer with Operation Safety Net. It carries a message 
for all of us.
  Dr. Withers' nominator for the award put it best by saying, ``Jim's 
advocacy, creativity, and leadership are tireless. He teaches all who 
are willing to listen, in Pittsburgh and beyond, that each of the 
homeless has a name and that each has a story.''

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