[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 7, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CELEBRATING MARY GATTON'S SELFLESS CARE FOR PATIENTS AND FAMILIES

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 7, 2023

  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate Mary Gatton for 
her selfless commitment to the care of cancer victims, the terminally 
ill, and their families. Ms. Gatton recently received Business First's 
`Lifetime Achievement Award' as a part of the Health Care Heroes 
program.
  At age 79, Ms. Gatton has spent much of her adult life supporting 
sick patients, the dying, and their families, through her work at 
Hospice/Hosparus Health, Inc. and Gilda's Club.
  Many struggle to find words of comfort for those experiencing grief 
and loss, but not Ms. Gatton; she is truly `there' for those in need, 
whether sitting at hospital bedsides with dying patients, in the 
waiting rooms with family members helping provide peace and 
understanding, facilitating a support group, comforting a newly 
diagnosed or newly bereaved person, leading a memorial service, or 
simply assisting at an event to support patients and caregivers.
  As a single mother of four children, Ms. Gatton pursued a bachelor's 
degree in social work in 1977, in the hopes that hospice care would one 
day make its way to the U.S. The National Hospice Organization wasn't 
even created until 1978, when it then began to promote the concept of 
hospice care. Congress passed a provision to create a Medicare hospice 
benefit in the 1980s, by which time Gatton had earned a master's degree 
in social work.
  Karen Morrison, CEO of Gilda's Club explains, ``The number of lives 
Mary has touched in her career is immeasurable. Everywhere I go in the 
community, people remember the impact she made for them . . .''
  Ms. Gatton is a shining example of the dedication that defines end-
of-life care. I offer my congratulations to Ms. Gatton for her well-
deserved award and thank her from the bottom of my heart for her loving 
care of our families and departed loved ones. She is an Angel.

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