[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 137 (Thursday, October 17, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   COLUMBIA MONTOUR HOME HEALTH SERVICES CELEBRATING 35TH ANNIVERSARY

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                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 16, 2002

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, today to call the attention of the House 
of Representatives to the service to the community provided by Columbia 
Montour Home Health Services, which is celebrating 35 years of serving 
residents of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
  During the autumn and early winter of 1966, groups of interested 
citizens in Danville and Bloomsburg, identified a need in the community 
for requests which could be met through the services of a public health 
nurse. Some of the groups involved included the Danville Council of 
Churches, the Bloomsburg Business Professional Women's Club and the Red 
Cross.
  In January 1967, representatives of Lutheran Social Services and the 
Pennsylvania Department of Health met with the local people and shortly 
thereafter a public meeting was held at the Court House in Danville to 
discuss a cooperative effort between Columbia and Montour Counties for 
the development of a Visiting Nurses Association.
  The name chosen for the new organization was Columbia Montour County 
Visiting Nurse Association. By April 1967, a Board of Directors had 
been named and immediately began raising funds. Funds were secured from 
the local United Way Funds, the County Commissioners, other agencies 
and private individuals.
  Nursing, physical and occupational therapy and social work counseling 
were the first services offered. In 1970, speech therapy was added. In 
1971, the Homemaking Home Health Aide program was added. The Hospice 
program was developed in 1981 to care for the terminally ill and their 
families.
  During the 1980s, the agency established health maintenance clinics 
in the housing complexes for older persons in Berwick, Bloomsburg, 
Danville, Millville and Catawissa.
  A comprehensive rehabilitation team was established to provide the 
most up-to-date therapy in the home. The staff is continually educated 
to care for patients' problems involving simple to complex needs.
  To meet the continued challenges of growth, the agency moved to new 
offices in Bloomsburg in December of 1996. It achieved accreditation 
from the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) in 1993 and is 
licensed as a home health agency and as a hospice by the Commonwealth 
of Pennsylvania. The agency is led by Chief Executive Officer Jane 
Gittler, R.N., M.S.N.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to call to the attention of the House of 
Representatives the service to the community of Columbia Montour Home 
Health Services, and I wish its employees and patients all the best.

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