[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2222-S2223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO VICTORIA CECH

 Mr. TESTER. Madam President, I rise today to extend my sincere 
appreciation to Victoria Cech, who is planning on retiring from her 
position as the executive director of the Montana Health Research and 
Education Foundation. The citizens of my State are truly grateful for 
her tireless efforts to improve thehealth of all Montanans.
  During her tenure at the foundation, Victoria was responsible for 
managing our State's hospital flexibility and frontier community health 
improvement programs, both of which provide vital support to our 
State's critical access hospitals. Why is this important? Because 
Montana has the distinction if not losing a single critical access 
hospital since the program's inception. It is the work of the 
foundation and Victoria's tireless leadership that has contributed to 
this great success.

[[Page S2223]]

  But her work did not stop there. She continued to lead efforts to 
improve care in Montana by expanding two of the area health education 
centers managed by the foundation. These efforts led the charge in 
addressing behavioral health needs in our State, even bringing national 
attention to Montana when the foundation partnered with the National 
Council for Behavioral Health and Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation 
to complete the Teen Mental Health First Aid pilot program at Jefferson 
High School in Boulder.
  Patient safety and quality improvement are also major focuses of the 
foundation. Victoria pioneered these efforts, leading a quality 
improvement team that moved Montana's hospitals into the highest ranked 
position within the Hospital Improvement Innovation Network hosted by 
the American Hospital Association's Health Research & Education Trust.
  In 2014, Victoria was at the helm of the foundation when our country 
saw its first Ebola patient. The foundation was managing the hospital 
preparedness program--HPP--which it continues to do today. With five 
Montana residents under Ebola surveillance, the preparedness program 
quickly ramped up to raise awareness in hospitals across the State. 
That preparedness work has expanded dramatically since then, bringing 
in four full-time planners who played a large role in helping Montana 
prepare for and manage the coronavirus pandemic.
  All 50 States are also experiencing an epidemic of drug addiction and 
opioid use that has hit Montana particularly hard, especially on the 
high line. The Montana Hospital Association and its foundation took 
this reality to heart and worked to expand its education and engagement 
work to move the needle on reversing opioid addiction. Under Victoria's 
leadership, the foundation was successful in securing a Rural 
Communities Opioid Response Program grant that is currently helping to 
address opioid addiction along the Canadian border and increasing 
engagement in our Tribal communities.
  With all the work that Victoria has done, she has not overlooked the 
needs of her team members or those of the Montana Hospital Association. 
When the pandemic halted in-person education in Helena area schools, 
Victoria looked for a solution to support the parents at the 
association and ultimately converted the educational center into a 
classroom for virtual learning, dubbed the MHA Learning Center. Staffed 
by a full-time teacher, parents could now go to work knowing their 
children would not slip in their classwork and instead continue to make 
educational gains.
  A lifelong learner, her passion for education will continue after her 
retirement as she supports her husband and president of Carroll 
College, John Cech, in positioning the college to be a national leader 
in higher education.
  Victoria is a gifted leader who has had a meaningful impact on the 
lives of all Montanans, and we are very grateful for her dedication to 
keeping folks healthy across the Big Sky State.
  Congratulations, Victoria Cech, on your much deserved 
retirement.

                          ____________________