[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 62 (Monday, April 7, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E293-E294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING A HERO FOCUSED ON GIVING BACK: DR. MICHAEL L. ZOLLICOFFER, 
                                  M.D.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KWEISI MFUME

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 7, 2025

  Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate a beloved native 
son of Baltimore, Dr. Michael L. Zollicoffer, M.D. Dr. Z, as he's known 
to most of his patients, is a physician of boundless compassion and 
enthusiasm, and he has spent more than 35 years breaking down barriers 
to healthcare for all Baltimoreans, regardless of their ability to pay. 
His clinic has been a ray of hope for the under and uninsured, and his 
selfless commitment to healing has had major impacts on the wellbeing 
of his community.
  Dr. Michael Zollicoffer is the son of trailblazing pediatrician Dr. 
Lawrence Zollicoffer, co-founder of Garwyn Medical Center, one of 
Baltimore's first Black-owned multi-specialty medical centers. Dr. Z 
followed in his father's footsteps by attending the University of North 
Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine located in Chapel Hill; the school 
that his father helped integrate. While at UNC, Dr. Z was honored with 
the MacNider Award, a prize given to sophomores with humility, good 
character, and impeccable personal integrity.
  Dr. Z earned his Doctor of Medicine from UNC in 1985 and returned to 
his hometown to finish his medical training. He completed his residency 
in pediatrics at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore in 1988 and remained in 
Baltimore to begin his own practice. He opened his urgent care 
facility, Life Care Plus, in an area of our city that struggles with 
poor health outcomes and poverty.
  In the decades since he opened Life Care Plus, Dr. Z has been a 
guardian angel to the people of the 21215 ZIP Code. Beyond his 
willingness to practice in an underserved area, what is so remarkable 
about Dr. Z is that he will never turn away a patient because they 
don't have enough money. A pediatrician by trade, he encourages 
patients to bring in their grandparents for free check-ups, and he'll 
happily give patients his personal cell phone number to call him any 
time, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.
  Dr. Z's spirit of generosity has turned his clinic into a family 
home, and many of the people he treated as children now bring their own 
kids to the clinic. His incredible value to his community has been 
repeatedly recognized, with Dr. Z receiving awards like the UNC Harvey 
E. Beech Outstanding Alumni Award and the University of Maryland, 
Baltimore County's Community Leadership Award.
  The love that the people of Baltimore hold for Dr. Z was most clearly 
shown in recent months, as Dr. Z is now dealing with health struggles 
of his own. He was recently diagnosed with renal and colorectal cancer, 
and due to insurance issues, he was facing the possibility of being 
unable to pay his medical bills. When his patients heard, they leapt 
into action to create a GoFundMe which has raised more than $250,000 
from over 3,000 individual donors. As further proof of his virtue, Dr. 
Z made clear that every penny that he doesn't need for his treatment, 
will go directly into his clinic.
  Mr. Speaker, you would be hard-pressed to find another individual 
with as much passion

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for healing and love for his community as Dr. Michael Zollicoffer. For 
his kindness, his selflessness, and his God-given abilities, Dr. Z has 
been a pillar of the Baltimore community for decades. His cancer 
prognosis are positive and, God willing, he'll be practicing in our 
city for years to come.

                          ____________________