[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 45 (Thursday, March 20, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




A TRIBUTE TO DR. DONALD BANGASSER, PRESIDENT OF THE CALIFORNIA MEDICAL 
                              ASSOCIATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JERRY LEWIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 20, 2003

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that 
I rise today to commend the incoming president of the California 
Medical Association, Dr. Ronald Bangasser. For nearly two decades, I 
have known Dr. Bangasser as a friend and a community leader in San 
Bernardino County, California, and I believe he will be a strong asset 
at the head of the nation's largest state medical association.
  Dr. Bangasser has been a prominent member of the San Bernardino 
County medical community since 1977, when he began in private practice. 
By 1982, he had established a reputation as an expert at treating 
complicated wounds as director of the Wound Care Center at Redlands 
Community Hospital. He became Chief of Staff at the hospital in 1990 
and is now Medical Director for the Beaver Medical Group in Redlands.
  Known for his interest in teaching, Dr. Bangasser is a member of the 
American Board of Family Practice, American College of Hyperbaric 
Medicine, American College of Physician Executives, and is a fellow of 
the American Academy of Family Physicians and an associate Professor at 
Loma Linda University Medical Center.
  The legions of patients devoted to Dr. Bangasser include many in the 
retirement communities of Yucaipa, California, and a generation of 
young athletes at San Bernardino Valley College, where he has given 
12,000 sport physicals in 22 years as team physician for the football 
team. Since 1986, he has served as team physician for the local minor 
league baseball team, currently known as the Inland Empire 66ers.
  Dr. Bangasser is well known for his leadership role in the medical 
community and on public policy both in California and on the national 
level. He has served on nine medical association reference committees, 
and has been a San Bernardino County Medical Society board member for 
25 years. He has served in a series of top positions on the California 
Medical Association, and is a delegate to the American Medical 
Association. He is a member of the AMA Council on Medical Services, and 
was recently appointed to the AMA's Quality Committee for NCQA. He was 
named Outstanding Physician by the San Bernardino County group in 1995, 
and was presented with the San Bernardino Valley College Distinguished 
Service Award in 1999.
  In the community, Dr. Bangasser spearheaded a collaborative effort 
between the San Bernardino and Riverside County medical associations 
and the San Bernardino Bar Association on domestic violence awareness. 
He annually sponsors and pays for travel costs of two students to AMA 
events, and helped cover the costs of a group of teens to attend an AMA 
conference on teen pregnancy. He has served on the boards of the local 
United Way, the YMCA, the Redlands Community Hospital Foundation and 
the ``Just for You Volunteers'' seniors group in Yucaipa.
  Dr. Bangasser is not unknown to us in Washington, where he has 
traveled to testify in support of medical programs, and last year he 
was honored by President Bush in a White House discussion on senior 
citizen health. He has already gained a reputation as a strong advocate 
of health care in his role as president-elect of the 35,000-member CMA.
  Along with his other accomplishments, Dr. Bangasser trained as a 
former Navy Diving Medical Officer, and has taught many colleagues, 
friends, and patients the joys of this underwater adventure. I can 
thank him and his wife Susan for helping me rediscover my love for this 
sport, and helping me to train and qualify as a SCUBA diver.
  Mr. Speaker, the job of president of the California Medical 
Association comes with heavy responsibility, but I am certain Dr. 
Ronald Bangasser will perform wonderfully in the role. I ask you and my 
colleagues to congratulate him on his election as president, and wish 
him success in his future endeavors.

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