[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 121 (Friday, September 5, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S11156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                     TRIBUTE TO DR. JAMES S. SEIDEL

 Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, the children of the United States 
lost a great champion on July 25 when Dr. James. S. Seidel died at the 
age of 60. Dr. Seidel was a professor of pediatrics at the University 
of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine and was chief of the 
Division of General and Emergency Pediatrics at Harbor-UCLA Medical 
Center.
  He was an excellent teacher and researcher, but he was also a 
tenacious advocate for children. Through his students, residents, and 
fellows, he leaves behind a legacy of energetic inquiry and dedicated 
service to children and their families. Through his advocacy work, he 
leaves behind a much improved system of care, particularly emergency 
care, for children. While we will all miss the man, we will continue to 
benefit from his work.
  A major concern of Dr. Seidel, and a concern I share, was the 
challenge our Emergency Medical Services system faces in appropriately 
caring for the emergency needs of children. The system responds well to 
adult needs but is not always so successful in meeting the needs of 
children. He was a driving force behind the Emergency Departments 
Approved for Pediatrics, EDAP, system in California, but he also 
recognized that a national problem such as this required national 
support if it was to be solved. Along with my good friend, Dr. Calvin 
Sia, and a small group of pediatric emergency care advocates, Dr. 
Seidel worked with Senators Hatch, Weiker, and myself to help us enact 
in 1984 the Emergency Medical Services for Children, EMSC, program. 
This modest program has made a tremendous difference in the lives of 
many children and their families in every State and Territory. Dr. 
Seidel was a driving force in shaping the direction of the EMSC 
program, and was one of the program's first grantees. He maintained his 
interest and advocacy as the program matured. There is almost nothing 
in EMSC that was not influenced by Dr. Seidel. Dr. Sia received the 
first National Heroes Award for Lifetime Achievement in emergency 
medical services for children. In 2000, Dr. Seidel received the second. 
It was an honor well deserved.
  In 1991, Dr. Seidel edited Emergency Medical Services for Children: A 
Report to the Nation. He asked me to write the Foreword. In it, I said, 
``History has repeatedly shown that persistence is most often the key 
to success. We must persist in our advocacy for those most vulnerable 
children of all: the ill and the injured.'' Dr. Seidel's life is a 
testimony as to how persistence will lead to success. We still have a 
long way to go, but we are much further down the road thanks to 
remarkable people such as James S. Seidel.

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