[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2747]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   OFFICE OF THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss an organization 
with which many of my colleagues have some personal familiarity, the 
Office of the Attending Physician. Many of my colleagues have come to 
rely upon the Attending Physician's Office here in the Congress as the 
source for support and medical advice. Most of us are personally aware 
of the fine work performed by Dr. Eisold and his staff in providing 
care for the Members of Congress, but there is much about the office 
which we don't think about regularly.
  The Senate has been served by the Attending Physician since 1930, a 
little more than a year after the office was established by the House 
of Representatives. The first Attending Physician, Dr. George Calver, 
served this body for approximately 37 years. He was known for offering 
health tips to Members of Congress such as ``eat wisely, drink 
plentifully (of water). Play enthusiastically and relax completely. 
Stay out of the Washington social whirl--go out at night twice a week 
at most.'' And, perhaps most importantly. ``Don't let yourself get off-
balance, nervous and disturbed over things.'' Each of these remains 
good advice all these years later.
  My colleagues and I know we can count on the expertise of the 
Attending Physician in many areas of medical advice. On average, the 
office successfully treats more than 50,000 patients annually. They 
regularly track the spread of infectious disease so that they can 
determine which inoculations and other medications will be required 
when Members travel to foreign locations. Members of the Senate rely on 
the physician's office for our annual flu shots and for assistance on 
minor medical problems. We also count on them, as do our staff and 
visitors to the Capitol, for handling medical emergencies.
  The Office of the Attending Physician also provides unique 
capabilities that are very important to the success of this institution 
which are not well known. The office is poised for crisis response. In 
recent years, it has responded to the anthrax outbreak in the Hart 
Building and to the ricin scare. The physicians, nurses, and other 
medical staff have the capability and training to respond to many 
potential emergencies up to and include terrorist response.
  The office is equipped with mobile medical vehicles designed to allow 
for deploying medical support throughout the region, if necessary, for 
offsite operations. These vehicles are well equipped to handle many 
medical emergencies that could arise. Each has a fully functioning 
laboratory and two examination rooms complete with most modern 
equipment. As the Congress considers its continuity of Government 
requirements, the Office of the Attending Physician is well positioned 
to support emergency legislative operations which could be required 
following an attack.
  Mr. President, the Office of the Attending Physician provides a 
critical capability to the legislative branch. The services they 
provide serve as a convenience to busy Members of the Congress, but 
they are much more. They are a vital piece of emergency response in the 
Capitol. They are ready, when called upon, to play a key role in 
ensuring continuity of the legislative branch, they serve to handle any 
medical emergency which might arise at the Capitol.
  We owe a great deal to Dr. Eisold and his team of fine specialists. 
May I suggest all of my colleagues thank them for their great service 
the next time we see them in action. They deserve our gratitude and 
support.

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