[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 35 (Thursday, March 18, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CONGRATULATING MOUNT CLEMENS GENERAL HOSPITAL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 18, 2004

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Mount Clemens General 
Hospital on the opening of their new Radiology Oncology Center and the 
completion of the first phase of the Ted B. Wahby Cancer Center. I also 
want to join the staff and trustees of Mount Clemens General in 
honoring my friend Ted Wahby for his long dedication to providing 
quality health care and to the service of Macomb County.
  Ted currently serves as Macomb County Treasurer and has a long record 
of dedicated public service. He was voted one of Crain's Detroit 
Business 25 most influential leaders last year. Prior to his service as 
Treasurer, he was the long-time mayor of St. Clair Shores and a trustee 
of the Lakeshore School District Board. Among his many charitable 
efforts, he serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Mount 
Clemens General Hospital and has played an active, instrumental role in 
making this much-needed cancer center a reality.
  Macomb County currently experiences a higher cancer rate than its 
neighboring counties. The county is also growing faster than any other 
Michigan County. In the next 50 years, the number of Macomb County 
cancer cases will double and the number of cancer cases among those 
over 85 will increase four-fold.
  The good news is that more and more, we're winning the battle against 
cancer. The National Institutes of Health estimates that more than 59 
percent of those diagnosed with cancer will survive at least five 
years, and advances in early detection and treatment could soon 
increase that rate to 75 percent.
  The bad news is that it's still a long, hard battle. In Macomb 
County, it has been made harder by patients having to travel to 
multiple locations, some of them far away, in order to receive care. In 
2001, nearly 70 percent of Macomb County residents were unable to get 
all the cancer care they needed in their own county.
  The new facility will combine state-of-the art medical technology 
with a warm, welcoming environment for patients and their families. 
Patients will have access to clinical trials, interdisciplinary teams 
of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and dietitians, but 
will also be able to stay in homelike rooms and visit a healing garden.
  Ted Wahby's leadership and dedication were indispensable to the 
building of this new facility. On behalf of myself and the people I 
represent in the 12th district of Michigan, I thank him warmly for his 
efforts and congratulate him on the honor of having this fine facility 
bear his name. It is indeed well-deserved.

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