[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 30, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5059-H5060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING HEALTHCARE HEROES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Babin) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to stand here today and 
recognize a handful of remarkable individuals from my congressional 
district for their exceptional contributions to the health and safety 
of communities across southeast Texas since the outbreak of the COVID-
19 virus.
  I have seen people come together like never before to help and 
support each other throughout this unprecedented time. People from all 
walks of life and from different backgrounds and ideologies have put 
their own needs aside to respond to the crisis at hand without 
hesitation.
  Today I wish to personally honor and say thank you to our frontline 
healthcare workers. You have selflessly put yourselves in the path of 
the virus

[[Page H5060]]

in order to protect the rest of us, and you are true American heroes.
  To the doctors, nurses, technicians, EMTs, pharmacists, home health 
aides, and everyone else who supports patient care, from the bottom of 
my heart, thank you. You have gone above and beyond. Your dedication, 
courage, and strength deserve our most profound admiration and 
gratitude. Your service to your community has impacted and saved 
countless lives.
  It would take days for me to appropriately honor each and every 
person who deserves special recognition. Unfortunately, I have limited 
time today, so I want to highlight just a few of these heroes.
  From my neck of the woods in Tyler County, Texas, I want to thank 
Carrie Holland Evans, a registered nurse who was infected with COVID-19 
in the line of duty. Since her recovery, Carrie has participated in 
virology studies and has donated convalescent plasma to save lives.
  I want to recognize Dr. Qamar Arfeen, who delivers home health and 
hospice care across southeast Texas and is the head of the COVID-19 
unit at Baptist Hospital, for all of his work with convalescent plasma.
  From Houston Methodist in Baytown, I want to mention four brave and 
resilient registered nurses: Jennifer Vera, LaDuska James, Dorothy 
Terry, and Jon Ann Watson. Your contributions to the hospital and 
dedication to patient care were simply awe inspiring.
  Also, from Houston Methodist in Baytown, I want to thank Gina Cotter, 
who collaborated across disciplines to educate and upskill nurses to 
provide respiratory care, while also serving as a frontline respiratory 
therapist.
  From Houston Methodist in Clear Lake, I want to thank Dr. Omar Acres, 
Dr. Nina Zatikyan, and Dr. Arthur Lim, who all cared for many infected 
patients. I also want to recognize three registered nurses--Stephanie 
Dockter, Diana Freyberger, and Nicole Herrick--who all volunteered to 
care exclusively for COVID-19 patients so their other staff members 
would not have to.
  I want to acknowledge the largest hospital system in southeast Texas, 
Memorial Hermann Health System, which has been on the front lines of 
the region's response to the pandemic. Memorial Hermann's more than 
6,000 physicians, 8,000 nurses, and hundreds of case managers and 
social workers have been caring for patients and their families in one 
of the country's most significant hot spots. They risk their lives 
every day to care for our community and have worked tirelessly to slow 
the spread of this disease.
  And, finally, I want to mention a handful of heroes from CHI St. 
Luke's. Thank you to Dr. Lou Hamer, a pulmonologist who closed his 
outpatient practice and instead fully dedicated his services to 
supporting the needs of COVID patients.
  Thank you Dr. Monte Orahood for working day and night since the 
pandemic started and for your clinical oversight, which has undoubtedly 
resulted in successful patient outcomes.

  Dr. George Rodriguez, thank you for providing clinical guidance and 
leadership on patient care and protocol development.
  And I thank Dr. Zaher Shebib, who has consulted on every single 
COVID-19 patient case for St. Luke's.
  Also from St. Luke's, allow me to highlight lab director, Charlie 
Combs, who is described by his colleagues as an unsung hero, as well as 
Chelsea Pavlowich, Christina Andrews, Sarah Hill, Candace Fernandez, 
Jason Case, Nidia Johnson, Cole Morse, Cassie Fire, and Lisa Agler, who 
are all superhero nurses and whose commitment to patients supersedes 
any fear of this dangerous virus.
  And to the thousands of healthcare workers who, due to time 
constraints were not mentioned today, please know this: You are the 
heroes of this unprecedented time.
  This country and your Congressman will forever be grateful. May God 
bless each and every one of you, and may we see an end to this global 
pandemic very soon.
  God bless you.

                          ____________________