[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 158 (Tuesday, November 4, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2216-E2217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING DR. PAUL F. HOM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT T. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 4, 2003

  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the late Dr. Paul F. 
Hom, a man who made numerous invaluable contributions to the Sacramento 
Community. Due to strong public support, the Sacramento County Health 
and Human Services will memorialize Dr. Hom's important service to the 
community by naming the new County Primary Care Building after him. As 
his friends, family, and admirers gather to pay tribute to Dr. Hom's 
remarkable life

[[Page E2217]]

and celebrate the opening of the Paul Hom Primary Care Building, I ask 
all my colleagues to join me in saluting this great humanitarian.
  To say that Dr. Hom was a man of great intellect would only begin to 
skim the surface of his scholarly prowess. Dr. Hom graduated from the 
University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in History. In 1966, 
Dr. Hom completed his law degree from Hastings College of Law, 
University of California. During his brief, yet meaningful legal 
career, Dr. Hom exhibited his trademark commitment to social justice by 
serving as a VISTA volunteer in Texas and Mississippi in 1966 and 1967. 
In 1969, Dr. Hom volunteered for Attorney-Neighborhood Legal Services 
in Compton, California. Driven by a realization that the poor cared 
more about medical issues than voting and civil rights, Dr. Hom 
enrolled in medical school and earned his medical degree from the 
University of California, Davis in 1973. In 1978, Dr. Hom received a 
degree in Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. 
Hom's impressive academic achievements are a testament to his 
intelligence and work ethic.
  During his second year in medical school, Dr. Hom and Dr. Garrett Lee 
held a series of meetings with a group of concerned undergraduate 
students to discuss improving health care for Sacramento's elderly 
Asian residents. The students concluded that many of the elderly Asians 
as well as the newly arrived immigrant families were having difficulty 
in obtaining adequate health care due to socioeconomic and language 
barriers and decided to start a free clinic to target this problem.
  In 1972, the Asian Clinic was established to become an elective 
course for medical and undergraduate students. Since 1972, the Asian 
Clinic continues to serve the Asian community in downtown Sacramento 
every Saturday. Today, the posthumously named Paul Hom Asian Clinic is 
the oldest existing Asian clinic in the United States and a vivid 
reminder of the positive vision and powerful legacy of Dr. Hom.
  The many functions of the Paul F. Hom Primary Care Center will serve 
as the proper embodiment of the vision of its namesake. The Center, 
designed to handle 100 patient-visits a day for primary care and 150 
walk-ins, provides a full range of services including a Chest clinic, 
Pharmacy, Public Health Laboratory, Radiology Department, Healthcare 
for the Homeless program and Refugee Health Clinic. It also serves the 
medically indigent of Sacramento County who are in need of medical 
assistance and ultimately improves access to care for residents of 
Sacramento County. All in all, the Paul F. Hom Primary Care Center will 
enhance the access to quality and effective health care for people 
without health care. In addition, the center will also enable health 
administrators to carry out their important responsibilities in a more 
efficient method.
  Mr. Speaker, as Dr. Hom's friends, family, and colleagues gather to 
celebrate the opening of the Paul Hom Primary Care Building, I am 
honored to pay tribute to one of Sacramento's most giving and cherished 
citizens. Dr. Hom's legacy is a true testament to community service. If 
a template for leadership could be made, it would surely bear the 
resemblance of Dr. Paul Hom. Although he is no longer with us, his 
legacy of compassion and care for the disadvantaged will continue to 
live on. I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in thanking Dr. 
Paul F. Hom for his numerous contributions to the Sacramento community.

                          ____________________