[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 98 (Friday, June 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       RECOGNIZING GABRIEL PEREZ

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DALE E. KILDEE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 2009

  Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, Gabriel Perez, the Director of the Saginaw 
Michigan Aleda E. Lutz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, has been 
appointed as the new Health System Administrator/Medical Center 
Director of the Veterans Affairs HealthCare System in Phoenix, Arizona. 
He will start his new position on July 19, 2009.
  Mr. Perez graduated from Loyola University in 1968, attended the 
University of California at Los Angeles Law School and obtained his 
Master's Degree in Public and Health Care Administration from the 
University of Southern California. Prior to his work with the 
Department of Veterans Affairs, Mr. Perez spent several years working 
for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and teaching 
courses at the university level in medical legal law and personnel.
  Prior to becoming the Director of the Lutz Veterans Affairs Medical 
Center in 2000, Mr. Perez was the Chief Operating Officer and Acting 
Director of the Honolulu VA Medical and Regional Office Center. Since 
assuming his duties in Saginaw, he led the facility to improve its 
overall performance and move to a top ten spot among Department of 
Veterans Affairs facilities nationwide, ranking 3rd in the nation for 
its hospital grouping. From October 2005 to August 2006 he also served 
as Acting Director of the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System.
  Patient care and safety has been his primary concern and his 
practices have earned him the respect of his peers. The delivery 
efficiencies he developed have been adopted nationwide and have won 
awards for improving VeteranCare delivery. He is a member of several 
professional organizations and community groups. His work with 
veterans, Hispanics, workers and children has been recognized numerous 
times and he is a regular participant in efforts to promote veterans 
and Hispanics at the local and national levels.
  Madam Speaker, Gabriel Perez has brought insight and innovation to 
the day-to-day operations of the Lutz Veterans Affairs Medical Center 
over the past 9 years. He has worked to enhance the health and well-
being of veterans, improve service to veterans, and expand 
accessibility for all veterans. I congratulate him on his new position 
and wish him the best as he enters this new phase of his life.

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