[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 69 (Friday, May 9, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E913-E914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO DR. ELBERT W. SUTTON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 9, 2003

  Mr. MILLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of this nation's 
most distinguished

[[Page E914]]

and dedicated physicians, Dr. Elbert W. Sutton. After 43 years of 
faithful service to the Northwest Florida community, the past 24 years 
of which he has served as Director of the Santa Rosa County Health 
Department, Dr. Sutton will step down from his position in June of this 
year and begin his much deserved and well earned retirement.
  A longtime resident of Milton, Florida, Dr. Sutton attended the 
University of Alabama as an undergraduate and subsequently received his 
medical degree from Tulane University in 1958. In 1960, he came to our 
community and opened a general private practice office. He kept this 
practice for 19 years until 1979, when he was appointed Director of the 
Santa Rosa County Health Department.
  Over the course of his remarkable career, Dr. Sutton has continuously 
remained focused on helping to heal and improve the lives of area 
residents. In 1978, he was a partner in opening the Rehabilitation 
Institute of West Florida and I am proud to say that it remains 
operating today as part of the West Florida Hospital system. In 1986, 
Dr. Sutton joined forces again with other local healthcare 
professionals and created the Medical Assistance Clinic in Milton. This 
clinic provided medical care, to those who were unable to afford it, 
for 12 years until it was forced to close by rising medical costs. 
Finally, just two years ago, in 2001, Dr. Sutton helped create the 
Santa Rosa Community Clinic to provide primary healthcare services to 
residents in the surrounding community.
  Upon his retirement, Dr. Sutton says it will be the people that he 
will miss most, both those he has helped serve and those he has worked 
with. I feel confident in saying that it is the people of Northwest 
Florida that will miss him more.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to offer my sincere and heartfelt 
congratulations to my good friend Dr. Elbert W. Sutton on his 
retirement from the Santa Rosa County Health Department. Very rarely 
does an individual have such a profound impact on a single community as 
Dr. Sutton has had on the First District of Florida. For the past 43 
years, he has dedicated himself towards helping the residents of 
Northwest Florida and for that we will be forever grateful. Mr. 
Speaker, on this occasion we honor one of America's greatest public 
servants.

                          ____________________