[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 22, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




A TRIBUTE TO THE LEADERSHIP OF DR. LYN BEHRENS OF LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY 
                           AND MEDICAL CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JERRY LEWIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 22, 2008

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to my good friend Dr. B. Lyn Behrens, who is retiring after nearly two 
decades of guiding Loma Linda University Medical Center into a 
regional, national and international role in modern medical technology, 
trauma care and cancer research.
  An innovator and pioneer throughout her career, Dr. Behrens became 
the first pediatric resident at Loma Linda University Medical Center in 
1966, just 2 years after completing her medical degree at the Sydney 
University School of Medicine. She became the first female dean of the 
medical school in 1986, and in 1990 she became the university's first 
female president.
  Over the next 10 years, Dr. Behrens became the CEO of Adventist 
Health System, and then president of Loma Linda University Medical 
Center, making her the top leader of all of the institutions affiliated 
with the university in San Bernardino County. Loma Linda now has a 
staff of 13,000, with 4,000 students from 80 countries.
  I first became closely acquainted with Dr. Behrens when we joined Dr. 
James Slater of Loma Linda in the quest to create the Nation's first 
proton beam treatment center in the late 1980s. That facility, which 
has treated more than 12,000 cancer patients, has become a model for 
Federal/local cooperation in research and medical technology. Although 
Dr. Slater was the driving force behind this medical breakthrough, Dr. 
Behrens marshaled the resources and staff of the medical center to 
provide crucial support for the effort.
  Following her first love of pediatrics, Dr. Behrens led the creation 
of the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, the only dedicated 
children's hospital in the Inland Empire--one of the fastest growing 
major urban areas in the United States. As with all of Loma Linda's 
institutions, this is a true teaching hospital, and will soon have a 
state-of-the-art pediatric and maternal health sciences campus.
  As an outgrowth of the children's hospital, Dr. Behrens led Loma 
Linda in creating the Rehabilitation, Orthopedic and Neurosciences 
Institute, which provides innovative rehabilitation for those who have 
lost limps, and is an international leader in research on the 
development of longer lasting artificial joints. The institute includes 
a park and playground with 26 different play features designed for 
interaction between able-bodied children and disabled children.
  Growing in many other ways under Dr. Behrens' leadership, the 
university has added a Behavioral Medicine Center, a school of pharmacy 
and a school of science and technology. The university and medical 
school have reached out to the community and region in many ways, 
creating clinics to serve low-income patients and counseling programs 
for after-school children and at-risk teenagers.
  Loma Linda has also established an international reputation for 
excellence under Dr. Behrens' leadership. Adventist Health 
International provides administrative support to hospitals and clinics 
in 12 developing nations, and provides medical support in 48 other 
countries. The most prominent efforts are in Kabul, Afghanistan, where 
Loma Linda provides direct support for that nation's only teaching 
hospital, and in Hangzhou. China, where the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital 
is the first in China to receive endorsement of quality care by the 
Joint Commission for International Accreditation.
  It goes without saying that Dr. Behrens has taken a leadership role 
in many medical societies in California and across the nation. Her 
accomplishments have recently been recognized by the California 
Hospital Association. which awarded her the Ritz E. Heerman Memorial 
Award for outstanding contribution in the improvement of patient care 
in California.
   Madam Speaker, after more than 40 years as a leader in medicine and 
health education, Dr. Behrens is retiring next month. Please join me in 
thanking her for a lifetime of public service and congratulating her on 
the many accomplishments that have helped make Loma Linda University 
Medical Center one of the nation's finest institutions of medical 
research and education.

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