[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 126 (Thursday, August 2, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING DR. NELSON ADAMS: PRESIDENT, NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

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                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 1, 2007

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise to offer my 
congratulations to Dr. Nelson Adams. On August 7, 2007, Dr. Nelson 
Adams will be installed as the 108th president of the 112-year-old 
National Medical Association during their annual convention and 
scientific assembly in Honolulu, Hawaii. The National Medical 
Association (NMA) promotes the collective interests of physicians and 
patients of African descent by serving as the collective voice of 
physicians of African descent and as a leading force for parity in 
medicine, elimination of health disparities, and promotion of optimal 
health. Dr. Adams is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, 
including the Honorary Doctor of Laws, but to me his most important 
accomplishment is that he was the doctor who delivered my son Kendrick 
Meek, Jr.
  Dr. Adams, a native of Miami, Florida and a product of its public 
school system, is a medical leader passionately committed to 
eliminating racial and ethnic inequality in health. He is regarded as 
an exceptional achiever, earning high recognition both scholastically 
and among medical peers. An esteemed alumnus of Howard University, Dr. 
Adams has been recognized in Who's Who in American Colleges and 
Universities. He earned his medical degree at Meharry Medical College, 
where he was named Student of the Year in his freshman class and served 
as President of the Meharry Chapter of the Student NMA. Dr. Adams 
completed his four-year residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Emory 
University in 1982. Prior to returning home to Miami, Dr. Adams 
practiced in Mobile, Alabama for three years, where he was a founding 
member of the Bay Area Medical Association, an affiliate society of the 
NMA.
  A board certified obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr. Adams has a vibrant 
and challenging practice in North Miami-Dade County. He was the first 
African-American Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and 
Gynecology and the first African-American Chief of Staff of North Shore 
Medical Center. In 1992, he founded the Maternal Child Health 
Initiative (MCHI), an award-winning model for providing care to at-
risk, low-income, pregnant women.

  Today, Dr. Adams is the Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and 
Gynecology at Jackson North Medical Center and President of N.L. Adams, 
M.D. and Associates. He is also President and Chairman of Access Health 
Solutions (AHS), a managed care company providing services in 26 
counties in Florida. Under Dr. Adams' leadership and through his keen 
focus on both access and quality, AHS has grown from humble beginnings 
to serving more than 94,000 beneficiaries with 525 healthcare 
providers.
  Throughout his fruitful career, Dr. Adams' leadership and community 
service has reached across academic, religious, fraternal, and charity 
institutions. He is the past Chairman of the Executive Committee of the 
Greater Miami Region of the National Conference of Christian and Jews, 
a member of the prestigious Orange Bowl Committee, a member of the 
Board of Trustees of the Florida International University Foundation, 
Meharry Medical College, Barry University, The Children's Trust and 
until recently, the Miami Art Museum.
  I am also proud to report that Dr. Adams and I are Members of the 
same fraternity, which we both consider the best fraternity in the 
country--Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Additionally, he is a beloved 
and active member of the historic St. John Baptist Church where he 
serves as a Deacon and Chairman of the Board of the church's Community 
Development Corporation. Dr. Adams has held many positions of 
leadership in organized medicine at the local, state and national 
levels. He is the past President of the local and state NMA societies 
in Florida and has served as Vice President, Secretary of the House of 
Delegates, and member of the Board of Trustees of the NMA.
  Dr. Adams has served on the board of directors of the DCMA for nearly 
10 years, and is the past Treasurer, Secretary, Vice-President, and 
President-elect of this august body. In June 2007 he was installed as 
the 97th President of the Dade County Medical Association. Dr. Adams is 
the son of Naomi A. Adams and the late Nelson L. Adams, both of whom 
were educators in the Dade County School system. Dr. Adams is married 
to Effie Jones Adams and they are the proud parents of Victoria and 
Nelson. Sustained by family ties and guided by spiritual values, Dr. 
Adams abides by the motto: ``To whom much is given, much is required.''

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