[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 26119-26120]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO VA MEDICAL CENTER, LOMA LINDA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 28, 2003

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Dean R. Stordahl, 
Chief Executive Officer of the VA Medical Center located in Loma Linda, 
and the entire hospital staff for being awarded

[[Page 26120]]

the Robert W. Carey Organizational Excellence Trophy Award for 2003. 
This outstanding facility proudly serves our veteran men and women and 
provides invaluable service to their community, while honoring the 
lives of our fallen soldiers. I join with grateful families across our 
nation in celebrating this year's Carey Award winner.
  For the past 25 years, the Loma Linda Medical Center has honored the 
lives of thousands of soldiers through their diligent work. 
Characterized by dignity and class, the medical center is dedicated to 
serving veterans who fought for our country. It has been an integral 
contributor to the Inland Empire and has given the respect and esteem 
that all servicemen and women deserve.
  The Carey Award is foremost an award based on excellence. 
Qualifications extend from performance in organizational leadership and 
management to strategic planning and community contribution. It is 
excellence in these areas that characterize a Carey Award winner. The 
Loma Linda Medical Center has proven year after year that it not only 
exhibits these specific qualities but also performs them at the highest 
possible level.
  And so, Mr. Speaker, I join today with the residents of the Inland 
Empire in congratulating our valued VA Medical Center for its 
remarkable achievement, and express my sincere admiration and deference 
to this magnificent medical center.

                          ____________________