[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 9 (Wednesday, February 2, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ON BEHALF OF DR. CHARLES HAMILTON

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. CHARLES W. BOUSTANY, JR.

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 2, 2005

  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today and recognize the 
achievements and accomplishments of a great and beloved physician from 
Lafayette, Louisiana. Dr. Charles Hamilton passed away on Friday, 
October 22, 2004 after a battle with cancer of the esophagus. On his 
retirement, Dr. Hamilton was asked, ``What are the most memorable 
events of your medical career?'' His response was simple, ``Practicing 
in Lafayette.''
  From 1954 to 1988, Dr. Hamilton practiced pediatrics as a partner in 
the Hamilton Medical Group. Dr. Hamilton worked as a physician field 
representative for the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of 
Healthcare Organization from 1989 to his retirement in 2003. Dr. 
Hamilton's special interest remained in the delivery of high quality 
medical care and it is toward that end that he pursued further 
education and practice in the field of healthcare administration. Dr. 
Hamilton was acutely aware of the treatment of children because he was 
the parent of a chronically ill child. His son, Charles Hamilton, was 
born with the blood-clotting disorder, Hemophilia.
  Dr. Hamilton was special for many reasons but one reason was his 
embrace and protection of the hemophilia community. Dr. Hamilton 
developed a reputation for his diligence, sensitivity, and 
resourcefulness in treating children with hemophilia; these 
characteristics are often missing in hemophilia treatment. In fact, one 
single parent brought her son with hemophilia to see him after moving 
to Lafayette. Dr. Hamilton later married that single mother, Janice 
Hamilton and adopted her young son, Charles. In a community where 
fathers often abandon children with hemophilia, or otherwise are not 
involved with treatment, Dr. Hamilton embraced a family with this 
dreaded disorder. Sadly, Dr. and Mrs. Hamilton lost their son Charles 
in 1979 due to complications from a bleed.
  Because of their son's illness and untimely death, Dr. Hamilton 
worked side by side with his wife in her determination to improve the 
quality of life for people with hemophilia and their families in the 
United States. For their efforts Dr. and Mrs. Hamilton were given the 
inaugural Charles Stanley Hamilton Legacy Award for Lifetime 
Achievement from the Hemophilia Federation of America.
  Dr. Hamilton served numerous local, state and national organizations 
because community service was an important aspect of his overall 
beliefs. Dr. Hamilton worked with the Louisiana Epilepsy Association, 
Louisiana Chapter of the National Hemophilia Foundation, which he 
served as President, the National Hemophilia Foundation, and the 
Hemophilia Federation of America. His wife, Janice Hamilton, and three 
surviving children and 5 grandchildren survive Dr. Hamilton. Louisiana 
has lost a great public servant with no equal.




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