[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21204]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             BEN McKIBBENS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 17, 2002

  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to an old friend and a 
pillar in the South Texas community, Ben McKibbens, the President and 
CEO of Valley Baptist Health System in Harlingen. Ben is a unique 
patriot and a consummate businessman, and the hospital system in our 
community will honor him upon his retirement on November 16, 2002.
  The health care system in our nation has faced--and continues to 
face--enormous and mounting problems in the administration of medical 
services and health care in our communities.
  It is people like Ben McKibbens who work hard to make hospitals 
function in an atmosphere of cost cutting. He is true leader both in 
our community and in the national healthcare network.
  Born in Kentucky and raised in Mississippi, this son of the South won 
honors as an alumni from Mississippi State College. He completed his 
Masters program at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. After 
residency in Hospital Administration at Mobile Infirmary Medical Center 
in Mobile, Alabama, he moved up the ladder of administration.
  An exemplary citizen with a caring heart, Ben has been the President 
and CEO of Valley Baptist Medical Center and Valley Baptist Medical 
Development Corporation since early 1977. In 1999, he became President 
and CEO of Valley Baptist Health system and affiliated corporations, 
which employs about 2,300 people.
  He has a large breadth of experience. He is a fellow in the American 
College of Healthcare Executives and is a Preceptor to graduate 
programs in Hospital Administration at the University of Alabama, and 
Trinity University in San Antonio.
  He is widely recognized for his efforts to improve regional health 
care needs for the South Texas/U.S. Mexico border region, a difficult 
geographical place to manage health care. In 2002 alone, he was honored 
with an award from the pharmacists of Texas, the Harlingen Hispanic 
Chamber of Commerce, and the American Heart Association.
  He has always been enormously helpful when my office has asked for 
wisdom on issues related to healthcare. He has worked well together 
with the South Texas and state entities.
  This true Southern gentleman is now Chairman of the Texas Hospital 
Association (2001-2002) and serves on the Voluntary Hospitals of 
America Board. He is also past Chairman of the Baptist Hospital 
Association and Past President of the Texas Baptist Hospital 
Association.
  Ben has been supported throughout his career by his lovely wife 
Loren, and their children: Ben Jr., Mitchell, Merridy, and Woods. I ask 
my colleagues to join me today in wishing Ben the best in his 
retirement.

                          ____________________