[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 40 (Monday, March 10, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E337]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING DR. FREDERICK ``SKIP'' BERRIEN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 10, 2008

  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, for over three decades, Dr. Frederick 
``Skip'' Berrien has been a prominent figure in Connecticut's medical, 
academic, and child welfare communities. This month, he will retire as 
the director for the Child Abuse/Children's Advocacy Center at St. 
Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. I rise today to recognize 
and celebrate his illustrious career and his contributions to our 
friends and neighbors in Connecticut.
  Between 1980 and 1987, Dr. Berrien served as the director of 
pediatrics and acting medical director in general pediatrics at the 
UConn/Mount Sinai Health Center. Following his tenure at the UConn/
Mount Sinai Health Center, Dr. Berrien assumed an associate director 
position for pediatric ambulatory services at Saint Francis Hospital. 
He subsequently served as director of pediatric ambulatory services, 
clinical director for sickle cell services, co-director of the Siberian 
American Children's Health Program, and director of child abuse 
services/Children's Advocacy Center at St. Francis. Beginning in 2001, 
Dr. Berrien joined the Connecticut Children's Medical Center as a 
consultant for the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Program.
  While the size and scope of Skip's medical career is clear, his 
contributions to the academic and social services community have also 
been substantial. From 1977 to 1979, Dr. Berrien was a clinical 
instructor at Boston University and from 1980 until present, an 
associate professor of clinical pediatrics at UConn School of Medicine. 
His original research ranges from the state of Russian pediatric health 
care to pediatric sickle cell pain management. His work in Russia after 
the fall of the Soviet Union, established new, enduring partnerships 
with Russian doctors that has benefited both countries.
  Dr. Berrien has added to his role of providing and teaching pediatric 
care, to serving as a forceful advocate for issues such as prevention 
of child abuse and neglect. In the early 1990's, he was instrumental 
with developing the Child Abuse/Children's Advocacy Center at St. 
Francis Hospital. At the time there was no program at all to deal with 
this critical unmet need in central Connecticut. Today as Dr. Berrien 
leaves, the center is one of the most respected such programs in the 
country and has brought both compassion and justice to this challenging 
area of law and medicine. In addition, Skip remains an active 
participant of such organizations as the American Professional Society 
on the Abuse of Children, the International Society for Prevention of 
Child Abuse and Neglect, and the Hartford Multidisciplinary 
Intervention Child Abuse Team.
  Medical professionals serve an invaluable role in our society. They 
are protectors of public health, and purveyors of hope and social 
justice. Throughout his career, Dr. Berrien has exemplified each of 
these roles. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me and my 
constituents with recognizing his contributions and offering our 
warmest wishes for his retirement.

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