[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 170 (Friday, November 21, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15403-S15404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING NOR-LEA GENERAL HOSPITAL

 Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, today I recognize the outstanding 
achievement of a hospital in my home State of New Mexico. Nor-Lea 
General Hospital, which is located in Lovington, New Mexico, was 
recently honored as one of the Nation's ``Top 100'' Hospitals by 
Solucient Corporation, a healthcare information company, in their 10th 
National Benchmarks for Success study. Nor-Lea was recognized because 
they have demonstrated superior clinical, operational, and financial 
performance in overall service.
  I am proud to recognize Nor-Lea Hospital for its strong commitment to 
help the community. Too often we hear about hospitals that are 
struggling; hospitals asserting they can not save money and improve 
patient services and thus are not able to meet the needs of their 
communities.
  Nor-Lea represents the exception. They represent the value of 
management, not only to save money, but also to improve efficiency. 
Nor-Lea is demonstrating what kind of performance is possible when this 
is done and they are setting new targets for performance improvement 
across the industry.
  Nor-Lea General Hospital is a 25-bed Medicare-certified facility. 
Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and private pay are accepted for 
services rendered. Nor-Lea General Hospital offers comprehensive 
outpatient services, which include a state-of-the-art laboratory 
facility with national lab affiliations, radiology services, MRI, bone 
densitometry, fluoroscopy, x-ray, ultrasound, and respiratory services.

[[Page S15404]]

The hospital also has a newly enlarged emergency room which is open 24 
hours a day, 7 days a week. Each month about 385 individuals utilize 
this emergency room.
  Nor-Lea was recognized as a top performing ``Small Community 
Hospital'' because of their higher survival rate and because they spend 
less money, release patients from the hospital faster, and have fewer 
employees. In short, Nor-Lea treats more of the sickest patients, while 
maintaining high customer service and preserving profits in a difficult 
marketplace.
  Congratulations, Nor-Lea General Hospital. I hope that your success 
will be a catalyst for continuous hospital performance 
improvement.

                          ____________________