[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 77 (Friday, May 5, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E402]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING DR. KARENINA ``KAREN'' RELUCIO

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 5, 2023

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. 
Karenina ``Karen'' Relucio for receiving the Napa Solano Medical 
Society's (NSMS) Professor Emeritus Award and for her service to the 
residents of Napa County and California's Fourth Congressional 
District.
  The Napa Solano Medical Society's Professor Emeritus Award is not 
granted every year. This high recognition is reserved to a few 
individuals who have shown exemplary commitment to healing and teaching 
medicine to colleagues and other young physicians in the community.
  In her role as Napa County public health officer, Dr. Relucio was a 
member of the Napa County Health and Human Services Executive 
Leadership Team. She led the department's public health and policy work 
by engaging and supporting a staff of 75 employees.
  Dr. Relucio was also essential to Napa County's response to the COVID 
pandemic. She served as the incident commander for local pandemic 
response, where her community-centered, strategic approach to crisis 
management made her a vital resource to the district. During the 
pandemic, Dr. Relucio was also director-at-large of the NSMS Board of 
Directors and often hosted weekly meetings with NSMS members to 
dispense critical information pertaining to the pandemic. She further 
coordinated medical volunteers to deliver essential COVID testing kits 
and personal protective equipment to Napa County. Her ability to assess 
and address operational issues from a management and a physician's 
perspective was integral as part of ``Live Healthy Napa County,'' a 
multisector effort centered on generating collective improvements to 
health and wellness, the social determinants of health, and health 
equity.
  Dr. Relucio's outstanding dedication to public health has been 
recognized with many other recent awards. In 2020, she was named the 
Napa Solano Medical Society Physician of the Year. She was also 
previously selected by Senator Bill Dodd to be honored by the 
Legislative Women's Caucus as a Woman of the Year in 2021. Similarly, 
Dr. Relucio was the Napa Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year in 
2022.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Karen Relucio has dedicated her life to ensuring the 
health and wellness of those in our Napa community.

                          ____________________