[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1351-E1352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO DAVID J. KEARS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 9, 2009

  Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay to tribute to David J. 
Kears, Agency Director for the Alameda County Healthcare Services 
Agency. Mr. Kears is retiring from his position and a farewell party 
has been planned in his honor on June 10, 2009.
  Mr. Kears' scholastic endeavors brought him to the University of 
California, Berkeley, where he graduated in 1968 with a major in 
Sociology. He continued his graduate work at

[[Page E1352]]

Berkeley and received a Masters Degree in 1970 in Social Welfare with a 
Psychiatric Casework Specialty. He also holds a Clinical Social Work 
license.
  Mr. Kears performed his internship at the Sonoma State Hospital and 
Children's Guidance Clinic in Palo Alto. After graduation, he went to 
work as a Psychiatric Social Worker at Napa State Hospital. He thrived 
in that setting from 1970 to 1974 and advanced to Assistant Program 
Director.
  He began his career with Alameda County as a Psychiatric Social 
Worker in 1974 and held a number of major department head positions in 
the Health Care Services Agency. In March 1986, Mr. Kears was appointed 
to the Agency Director position, at which time he not only took over 
the weighty matters of the Agency but also became Acting Director of 
Highland General Hospital during a time of reorganization.
  Currently, as director of the Health Care Services Agency, Mr. Kears 
provides overall direction, consultation and troubleshooting to the 
four major departments comprising the agency which include Indigent 
Care; Public Health Department; Environmental Health Services and 
Behavioral Health Care Services. From 1993 to 1998, Mr. Kears assumed 
the additional responsibility for developing a public/private Medi-Cal 
managed care program, the Alameda Alliance for Health, pursuant to the 
State of California Department of Health Services' directive. The 
Alliance is now a fully licensed HMO comprised of traditional Medi-Cal 
and safety net county and community providers.
  Mr. Kears' most recent major program responsibilities included 
coordinating the County's Indigent Medical Care System and monitoring 
contracts with the Alameda County Medical Center and a broad network of 
community-based primary care providers.
  A number of non-profit organizations, commissions, government 
agencies and health systems have benefited from Mr. Kears' leadership, 
vast knowledge and experience in the development and implementation of 
county and state health care policies.
  I join Dave Kears' colleagues in thanking him for his years of 
commitment and service in making a difference in the lives of others.

                          ____________________