[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO DR. GARY PURDUE, MD, FACS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SAM JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 17, 2006

  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Gary Purdue, MD, FACS, is 
one of my constituents performing life-saving work at the Burn Center 
at Parkland Health and Hospital System. In addition to his work at 
Parkland, Dr. Purdue is Professor of Surgery at The University of Texas 
Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and is also a Professor of 
Anesthesiology and Plastic Surgery. In addition to these achievements, 
he has served as the President of the American Burn Association and 
spearheaded efforts to improve research into the treatment of burn 
injuries, worked to increase critical funding in the field, and 
furthered the cause of education for the prevention of devastating burn 
injuries.
  Dr. Purdue's work as leader of the ABA is significant because this is 
the organization that sets the industry standard for this challenging 
specialization within the field of medicine. Burn professionals, 
physicians, nurses, fire fighters and emergency personnel practice in 
every state of the union, playing a significant role in this country's 
response to emergencies, including terrorism risks which are now part 
of our world.
  The Burn Center at Parkland has been an ACS/ABA verified burn center 
since 1996, and the integrated in and out patient rehabilitation 
program gives the burn team a very strong presence treating over 600 
new acute burn patients each year. Dr. Purdue's research interests 
include development and maintenance of a single center 14,500 patient 
database, causation of injury and high risk patients. He has had over 
150 articles published in peer review journals and books.
  I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dr. Purdue on 
his valuable contributions to the field of burn injury treatment, an 
area I have had personal experiences with, and to apprise my colleagues 
of the American Burn Association and urge them to work with the burn 
centers and burn professionals in their own districts and states.

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