[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 7, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E885]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E885]]
 TRIBUTE TO THE JAMES L. WEST ALZHEIMER'S CARE FACILITY IN FORT WORTH, 
                                 TEXAS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAY GRANGER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 7, 2003

  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the tenth anniversary 
year of the James L. West Alzheimer's Care Facility in Fort Worth, 
Texas and to recognize the many accomplishments of its founding 
executive director, Moira A. Reinhardt, R.N.
  The West Center, founded in 1993, was established in part by a major 
gift from the James and Eunice West Foundation and it continues to 
receive the support of many other generous North Texas foundations, 
individuals, corporations and organizations. The center was the 
Southwest's first free-standing facility devoted exclusively to the 
care of persons with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders and has 
been nationally recognized for its excellence of care and its 
commitment to helping its residents maintain a restraint-free life 
style.
  Moira A. Reinhardt, nationally known as a pioneer in the 
establishment and management of centers for Alzheimer's care, was 
selected as the West Center's first executive director. A native of 
Scotland, Ms. Reinhardt was trained as a medical/surgical nurse in 
Britain. She first established a home care program for the elderly in 
Scotland and then, inspired by the example of Mother Theresa, served 
the poor in Guatemala as a nurse in the British Overseas Volunteer 
Program. Ms. Reinhardt became a U.S. citizen September 17, 1996.
  Before coming to Fort Worth and the West Center, Ms. Reinhardt was 
the founding executive director of the Pikes Peak Hospice, Inc., and 
later became the founding administrator of Namaste Alzheimer's Center 
in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
  She has lent her expertise to both state and national boards dealing 
with health care for the elderly and in 1989 served as chairperson for 
the National Hospice Organization. Recently the directors of the West 
Center honored her by establishing the Moira A. Reinhardt Continuing 
Education Scholarship Fund to further the education of the Center's 
nursing staff and the city of Fort Worth proclaimed April 2, 2003 Moira 
A. Reinhardt Day.
  I ask that the House of Representatives join me in recognizing the 
important role the James L. West Alzheimer's Care Center plays in the 
care of the elderly of North Texas and honoring Moira A. Reinhardt for 
her lifelong commitment to compassionate health care.

                          ____________________