[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 106 (Tuesday, June 25, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E661-E662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING KIMBERLY DUDECK'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO NORTHERN INDIANA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RUDY YAKYM III

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 25, 2024

  Mr. YAKYM. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize and congratulate Kimberly 
Dudeck, who is retiring on June 27 after 43 years of providing care to 
Hoosiers in northern Indiana as a recreational therapist, including for 
the past 36 years at Memorial Hospital of South Bend's Inpatient 
Rehabilitation center.
  Raised in South Bend, Kim has spent over four decades embodying 
compassionate care and addressing the mental, physical, and spiritual 
health needs of the patients she has

[[Page E662]]

been tasked with looking after. In her vocation as a recreational 
therapist, Kim has cared for all kinds of patients, including stroke 
victims, those suffering from traumatic brain injuries, cardiac 
patients, amputees, trauma patients, people with spinal cord injuries 
and neurological disorders, and cancer patients. With every patient, 
Kim has provided tailored and individualized therapy and care that fits 
the person's specific needs and interests, and which helps them 
successfully re-enter their community after they have experienced a 
life altering event.
  Part of what has made Kimberly such a special person to all those who 
know her is how she has consistently gone above and beyond to help 
others and how she has been an agent for positive change. This passion 
for helping others has included starting the therapy dog program on the 
rehabilitation unit, spearheading a neuro group for stroke survivors 
and their families, coordinating the annual rehab reunion for previous 
rehab patients, and serving on the Board of Directors for the Special 
Olympics.
  So many people have benefited from Kim's care over the years, and she 
has undoubtedly made the greater South Bend community a better and 
kinder place to live. I and many other Hoosiers are extremely grateful 
to Kimberly Dudeck for her many years of caring for patients and doing 
diligent, dedicated work to help others recover and lead better, more 
fulfilling lives. I wish Kim and her family all the best going forward 
and a very well-deserved and happy retirement as she begins the next 
chapter of her life. God bless Kimberly Dudeck.

                          ____________________