[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 17] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 23597-23598] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]WILLIAM WINKENWERDER, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR HEALTH CARE ______ HON. CHARLES H. TAYLOR of north carolina in the house of representatives Thursday, November 29, 2001 Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, America's armed service members, their families and military retirees can rest easier today knowing that Dr. William Winkenwerder has been sworn in as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Care. A western North Carolina native, Dr. Winkenwerder brings fittingly broad experience and an impressive record of achievement to this important position. All Americans can be proud that Dr. Winkenwerder has agreed to serve his nation yet once again. The Asheville Citizen-Times' Tim Reid recently penned a profile of Dr. Winkenwerder, which I am glad to share with my colleagues. Winkenwerder Top Healthcare Official for Defense Department (By Tim Reid) Asheville.--Growing up in Asheville in a family well known for its successful hotels, William Winkenwerder seemed destined to enter the hospitality industry like his brother, John. But he liked science and helping people and figured medicine was a good way to combine those interests. Some time during his years of medical school, residency and private practice, Dr. Winkenwerder also discovered he was drawn to the public policy side of medicine, designing and administering systems to deliver quality health care as efficiently as possible. ``Even though I very much enjoyed taking care of patients, I developed an interest in how the system of health care worked, or didn't work in some cases,'' he said. After years of high-level jobs related to providing health services, Winkenwerder is using all his experience and expertise to help protect the health of America's armed services, their families and military retirees. He was sworn in recently as assistant secretary of defense for health care--the Defense Department's top health-care official. It is a big job, and the numbers are staggering. Winkenwerder manages the nation's $25 billion defense health program, whose 110,000 staffers see to the health needs of more than 8 million people around the world. ``It's an incredible responsibility. I am honored to have the opportunity to serve in this kind of position,'' he said. ``We have wonderful people in the military. They are extremely dedicated, hard working and bright.'' Winkenwerder assumed the job at a critical time as the military prepares for a sustained effort against terrorism. ``We have to look at the whole range of biological agents that could pose a threat and develop a strategy for all of them,'' he said. ``That could include not just anthrax but also smallpox, the plague and all the things we believe could be used.'' Winkenwerder faces the same challenges posed to any health care executive--assuring quality care while keeping costs at an acceptable level. He is not responsible for the nation's VA hospitals but does oversee the Tricare program that functions like an insurance program, paying for care through the public or private sector. THE EARLY YEARS Winkenwerder said he has a soft spot in his heart for Asheville and visits family members here three or four times a year. They include his father, William Winkenwerder Sr. of Asheville, and his mother Martha Baker Loew, also of Asheville. His brother John Winkenwerder is managing partner of the Asheville area Hampton Inns. ``It was a great experience growing up there and working for my father,'' he said. ``He gave me a real appreciation for work and for serving people.'' But it was Winkenwerder's family physician, Dr. Roger James, who sparked his early interest in medicine. ``He was a wonderful man who died recently,'' Winkenwerder recalled. ``He was my doctor and a leader in my church. I was just impressed with what he did for people.'' He said another role model was orthopedic surgeon Dr. Wayne Montgomery. ``He was mayor of Asheville at the time, and I liked that idea of combining medicine and public service.'' Winkenwerder also worked summers as an orderly at St. Joseph's Hospital, where he got to know many physicians such as Dr. David Cappiello, another orthopedic surgeon. After graduation from Asheville High School, Winkenwerder went to Davidson College on a football scholarship, enrolling in its pre-med program. After Davidson came eight years of medical school and residency in internal medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, during which Winkenwerder's career interests began to change. ``I decided I really did want to delve into this whole area of health care policy and health care economics and public health,'' he said. ``I decided business school was a good way to do that.'' Winkenwerder attended the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and at the same time completed a fellowship in public health and research at the university's hospital. During the summer of 1986 he worked at the Department of Health and Human Resources and got a taste for government that has never really left him. The following year [[Page 23598]] Winkenwerder was asked to come back and work in the Health Care Financing Administration, which operates the Medicare and Medicaid programs. ``I worked there about two years, until the end of the Reagan administration'' he said. ``I got into that whole world of how the health care system should be structured.'' Yearning to use his skills as a doctor, Winkenwerder joined a group practice in Atlanta. He worked there for five years, seeing firsthand how managed care was changing the practice of medicine. Winkenwerder then began a series of high-level jobs in diverse aspects of the health care system. They included stints as: regional vice president and chief medical officer for Prudential Health Care; regional quality assurance and associate medical director for Kaiser Permanente; and vice president for Emory Health Care at Emory University. Then Winkenwerder moved to Boston to take the number two post as vice chairman of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. When his desire to advance to the top post did not materialize, he decided to return to government service. Winkenwerder talked to friends and colleagues in Washington and spent several months being interviewed and scrutinized for the job at the Department of Defense. He was nominated by President Bush after an extensive FBI background check. The Armed Services Committee approved Winkenwerder's nomination Oct. 16, and he was sworn into office Oct. 30. ``My goals are pretty simple,'' he said. ``I want to protect the health of the people who are in the service, making sure especially that we are ready for chemical or biological attacks. ``I want to improve Tricare, managing costs and improving service and quality,'' he said. ``And I want to improve our relationships with other entities like Congress, the VA system and the Department of Health and Human Services.'' Winkenwerder's wife, Pride and 10-year-old son, Will are staying in Boston until the end of the school year, when they will join him in Washington. In the meantime, he is working 12-hour days in his office at the Pentagon. Winkenwerder is excited to be in a job where he can use his years of experience and preparation to, perhaps, make a difference. ``I would just hope that in some way, by being an effective leader, I can help improve health care for an important group of people who serve our nation,'' he said. ____________________