[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 100 (Thursday, July 7, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PAYING TRIBUTE TO LINDA S. MULLER

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                        HON. MAURICE D. HINCHEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 7, 2011

  Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and salute Linda S. 
Muller, who is marking her 20th Anniversary as President and Chief 
Executive Officer of The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center. 
Under Linda's diligent and tireless leadership, The Greater Hudson 
Valley Family Health Center has grown from a small facility located in 
the basement of St. Luke's Hospital serving 4,000 patients each year to 
a greatly expanded and modern health center providing comprehensive 
primary and preventive health care to more than 18,000 patients 
annually in the City of Newburgh and the surrounding towns in eastern 
Orange County. As a result of Linda's tremendous commitment and passion 
for universal health care, many thousands of medically underserved 
families and individuals in our region receive the highest quality of 
care from the dedicated physicians and staff at The Greater Hudson 
Valley Family Health Center.
  In addition to overseeing the historic expansion of the health 
center's physical facilities, including the recent construction of a 
state-of-the-art new facility in the City of Newburgh, Linda has 
devoted a great deal of energy to increasing the services offered to 
our local community. The obstetrical health program developed by Linda 
in 2005 has now assisted more than 3,000 women in delivering healthy 
babies, many of whom now continue to receive health care at the health 
center. Linda also has responded to the urgent medical needs of our 
local community. This included creating programs to improve chronic 
health care management for diabetics and those with cardiovascular 
disease and initiating a model treatment program for people in our 
community living with HIV. Similarly, when it appeared that urgently 
needed treatment for people with substance abuse and chemical 
dependency problems might be lost to the City of Newburgh, Linda 
stepped in and created The Center for Recovery, which has now supported 
more than 800 patients in making a transition into healthy lifestyles 
free from drugs and alcohol.
  Linda has led The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center through 
her strong dedication to the premise that health care is a right and 
not a privilege. She has imparted to every one of the more than 200 
employees who work at the health center the importance of fulfilling 
the center's mission to provide high-quality, affordable, and easily 
accessible health care to everyone in our community, regardless of 
their status or ability to pay for care. Linda and her husband Charles 
will also celebrate another anniversary this summer, celebrating 40 
years of marriage. They have three wonderful children, Jonathan, 
Christopher, and Jessica and three beautiful grandchildren, each 
brought into this world by one of the health center's extraordinary 
obstetricians.

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