[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 127 (Monday, November 13, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S10862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DR. ROBERT LIPSON

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, simultaneous with my remarks tonight at 
Kennesaw University Convocation Center in Cobb County, GA, there is a 
memorial service where thousands of my fellow citizens are paying 
tribute to the life, the times, and the contributions of Dr. Robert 
Lipson. On Saturday night, Dr. Lipson, leaving Kennestone Hospital, was 
killed in a tragic automobile accident with a motorcycle just two or 
three blocks from the health care facility to which he had dedicated 
the majority of his life.
  Dr. Lipson was just not any ordinary doctor; he was an extraordinary 
human being. Dr. Lipson was president and CEO of WellStar Health 
Systems, the owner and operator of five hospitals in metropolitan 
Atlanta, in Cobb, Douglas, and Paulding Counties, the employer of 
hundreds of doctors and thousands of caregivers, and one of the true 
leaders in modern health care today in our State.
  Dr. Lipson, in his time at Kennestone Hospital, did a $68 million 
capital improvement with an 84-bed residential tower. He brought an 
open-heart surgical unit to Kennestone Hospital, and at the time of his 
tragic loss, Dr. Lipson's emergency room at Kennestone Hospital was the 
second largest emergency room in the State of Georgia and one of the 
largest in the United States, serving victims of tragic trauma 
throughout the metropolitan area.
  But it wasn't only his leadership as the head of WellStar Health 
Systems. For 25 years prior to his appointment, he had a practice in 
internal medicine in our community. He was a leader in his synagogue, 
Etz Chaim, and brought to that leadership tremendous involvement in our 
community. He was a gifted photographer. In fact, only 8 weeks ago--8 
weeks before his death--his photography was displayed at Kennesaw 
University for all to see because of his great insight, his great 
talent, his credibility, and the way he had captured not only our 
community but all the special places in the world he visited.
  So tonight on the floor of the Senate, on behalf of myself and 
thousands and thousands of citizens in my State, I extend to his wife, 
his mother, his son, and his daughter our sympathy in this tragic loss 
but also our pride and joy in the great contributions of Dr. Robert 
Lipson to the betterment of the health of countless thousands of 
citizens and the betterment and the health of our community.
  I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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