[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 121 (Thursday, September 30, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S10058]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           KATHERINE GOTTLIEB

 Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, earlier this week the John D. 
and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation selected an outstanding Alaskan, 
Katherine Gottlieb, as one of 23 distinguished Americans who have been 
designated MacArthur Foundation Fellows for 2004. The MacArthur 
Fellowship is better known as the ``Genius Award'' and that term aptly 
describes my friend, Katherine Gottlieb.
  Katherine, who is of Aleut and Filipino descent, is the Chief 
Executive Officer of Southcentral Foundation, which provides primary 
health care services to some 40,000 Alaska Natives in Anchorage and 
Southcentral Alaska. Southcentral Foundation is also a partner in the 
management and operation of the cutting edge Alaska Native Medical 
Center.
  Notwithstanding her lofty title, Katherine is no ``corner office'' 
executive. Her first job at Southcentral Foundation's headquarters in 
Anchorage was receptionist. She took the job while undertaking 
undergraduate work at Alaska Pacific University. She worked her way up 
the ranks at Southcentral Foundation and went on to earn an MBA at 
Alaska Pacific University.
  But Katherine didn't go to school in Anchorage to prepare for a 
career in healthcare. By the time she arrived in Anchorage, she had 
already demonstrated her commitment to the wellbeing of her Native 
people. Katherine began her healthcare career as a community health 
aide in her hometown of Seldovia, AK, a community of about 306 people 
which is not connected by road to the rest of Alaska, much less the 
continental United States.
  In the roadless villages of rural Alaska, community health aides 
provide the link between the patient and medical resources available in 
the larger communities. Alaska's Community Health Aides are the front 
line health providers in our last frontier.
  Perhaps it was this formative experience that led Katherine to 
champion the implementation of a patient centered healthcare delivery 
model at Southcentral Foundation. The MacArthur Foundation does not 
officially explain which qualities led them to select a particular 
nominee as a fellow. They explain that the fellowship is an investment 
in a person's originality, insight and potential.
  But their announcement offers some clues about what led the 
foundation to select Katherine. The announcement observes that 
Katherine, by championing this patient centered delivery model, has 
transformed health care and related health programs in her Alaska 
Native community.
  On February 10, 2003, Dr. Douglas Eby, Southcentral Foundation's Vice 
President for Medical Services, accepted the Indian Health Service 
Physician Leader of the Year Award. In his acceptance address he 
described the genesis of the patient centered delivery system as 
follows:

       The Native community and Southcentral Foundation asked for 
     a primary care system that was truly centered on the needs 
     and wants of the patient and family, that was built on the 
     foundational strengths and values already present in the 
     Native community, that fully partnered with the patient and 
     family, providing them with the information and tools they 
     needed in their journey toward wellness, that provided 
     optimal quality and access to every single Alaska Native and 
     American Indian eligible for services . . . What we did was 
     to take the best pieces of programs we could find nationally 
     and internationally that supported the vision of the 
     Anchorage Native community and Southcentral Foundation 
     leadership and created our own system of care.
       This system allows over 40,000 individuals and families to 
     choose their primary care provider, enter into a long-term 
     trusting relationship with them, have same day access for any 
     reason, and fully partner in their journey toward wellness. 
     It has resulted in these primary care patients decreasing 
     their daytime use of the Urgent Care Center and Emergency 
     Room by about 50%, use of specialty clinics by over 30% and 
     total primary care visits by about 20%. Quality of care 
     measures such as immunization rates, cancer screening rates, 
     depression screening/treatment, chronic pain screening/
     treatment, etc. have all maintained or significantly 
     improved. Patient satisfaction measures have been very 
     positive. Support systems such as health education, 
     nutrition, and social services have been fully integrated 
     into the system.

  Dr. Eby pointed out in that acceptance address that the patient 
centered health care model would not have been implemented without the 
visionary leadership of Katherine Gottlieb. In Dr. Eby's words, ``This 
journey was going to happen. Katherine Gottlieb would accept nothing 
less.''
  The patient centered health care initiative is one of Katherine's 
many contributions. The MacArthur Foundation also took note of 
Katherine's creation of the Family Wellness Warriors Initiative, which 
seeks to revitalize the traditional role of Alaska Native men as 
protectors and providers, making them less inclined to fall into a 
pattern of domestic abuse.
  They acknowledged Katherine's leadership with respect to the Dena A 
Coy Residential Treatment Center, which is the first residential 
facility for pregnant women in the United States focusing on prevention 
of fetal alcohol disorders and Pathway Home, a transitional living 
center which addresses the challenges of substance abuse, violence and 
suicide among Native teenagers.
  These are just a few of the 75 medical, behavioral health and 
community services that moved the MacArthur Foundation to conclude, 
``Under Katherine Gottlieb's leadership, the Southcentral Foundation 
network has demonstrated that high-quality health care and effective 
preventive services are possible, even in communities facing obstacles 
of poverty and geographic isolation.''
  Alaska has known for many years what a treasure we have in Katherine 
Gottlieb. Now the Nation knows too. But Katherine is not one to rest on 
her laurels. An innovator and an entrepreneur, I have no doubt that 
this recognition will spur Katherine to even greater heights. But one 
thing is for sure. Katherine Gottlieb will never forget where she came 
from. She is anchored by the strength of her faith and her values and 
grounded by her Native heritage.
  I join with all Alaskans in congratulating Katherine Gottlieb on this 
extraordinary accomplishment.

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