[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 201 (Monday, December 11, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1680-E1681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN HONOR OF DUANE DAUNER, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE CALIFORNIA HOSPITAL 
                              ASSOCIATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KEVIN McCARTHY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 11, 2017

  Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, when dedicated people reach the end of a 
long and full career, they care to be remembered for more than what 
they accomplished, but for how they accomplished it.
  Duane Dauner is a peace maker, a consensus builder, and a man with an 
uncommon mix of expertise and compassion. He is a man who has 
deservedly gained a local, statewide, and national reputation for his 
knowledge and abilities.
  Duane has over three decades of experience as the President and CEO 
of the California Hospital Association, serving the most populous state 
in America with diversity to match its size. From rural expanses in the 
farms and deserts to the great cities along California's coast and 
interior, Duane has more than capably responded to the health care 
needs of the people of California.
  Building on his experience in the Kansas Hospital Association and the 
Missouri Hospital Association, Duane came to California with a personal 
commitment to provide every Californian with equitable access to 
affordable, safe,

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high-quality health care services. In large part because of his work 
and leadership, California experienced the slowest rate of health 
expenditure growth relative to the entire nation.
  He took the lead to develop the Modern Pricing approach, a voluntary 
effort where hospitals can adjust their charges to develop a more user-
friendly billing process. He improved the transparency of hospital 
data, helping to develop the California Hospital Assessment Reporting 
Taskforce (CHART), which adopted 50 hospital performance measures and 
still publicly reports hospital quality today. Under his leadership, 
the California Hospital Association established the 501(c)3 Hospital 
Quality Institute to prioritize initiatives that improve patient safety 
and quality.
  His public recognition acknowledges his accomplishments. He has 
earned the American College of Health Care Executives highest honor, 
the Gold Medal Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Healthcare 
Executive of Southern California, and the Ludlam-Gamble Award from the 
National Health Foundation, among many others.
  I, along with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, have both 
appreciated Duane's counsel and advice over the years, leaning upon him 
to inform our own health care policy decisions. The fact that we come 
from different sides of the aisle reflects not only the excellence of 
Duane's advice, but also the quality of his character.
  Friends and colleagues have called him an ``elder statesmen,'' a 
``careful listener,'' a ``decisive leader,'' and a man of ``resolute 
character'' with ``a work ethic that never wavers.'' Duane is a person 
who has always done more than his job required and did it well. While 
the people of California and the nation will miss his leadership, we 
are all the better that he spent so much of his life serving our state 
and country.

                          ____________________