[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 157 (Monday, September 29, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         IN HONOR OF JIM MANGIA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 29, 2008

  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Jim Mangia, 
distinguished philanthropist and entrepreneur, whose health centers 
have provided free medical, dental and mental health services to 
thousands of children and adults in Los Angeles for over forty years.
   Jim Mangia is the President and CEO of St. John's Well Child and 
Family Center (SJWCFC) and a leading expert on environmental health 
issues faced by economically disadvantaged communities in Los Angeles, 
California. He recently opened his eleventh non-profit health care 
clinic in downtown Los Angeles, forty years after opening his first 
clinic. St. John's Well Child and Family Centers have grown to a family 
of eleven non-profit health centers providing free health services to 
children and adults. Since the founding of the first St. John's Well 
Child and Family Center, his clinics have served over sixty-thousand 
patients a year. According to statistics provided by St. John's, more 
than ninety-seven percent of the patients who have visited the clinics 
live below the poverty level and almost half of all residents have no 
health insurance. Mr. Mangia has led the effort on discourse regarding 
environmental health and has co-authored an article outlining the 
effects of slum housing on children's health.
   Mr. Mangia's dedication to treating and raising awareness of 
environmental health issues reaches far beyond his leadership in 
SJWCFC. He has testified before Congress numerous times and works 
intimately with a number of local school boards to ensure that the 
health needs of children from economically disadvantaged communities 
are being met.
   Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor of Jim Mangia, 
and in recognition of his tireless efforts on behalf of communities of 
need. May his inspiration and genius be an example for all of us to 
follow.

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