[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 876-877]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                RECOGNIZING PENOBSCOT BAY MEDICAL CENTER

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, nearly 2 weeks ago we first witnessed the 
devastation that came about as a result of the massive earthquake in 
Haiti. As millions of Americans watched the heart-wrenching scenes on 
television, we united as a people to send millions of dollars and tons 
of supplies to the Haitian people through dozens of established and 
respected relief organizations. Nonetheless, tens of thousands of 
Haitians remain displaced, without food or shelter, and many are still 
in need of urgent medical attention. I rise today to recognize the 
efforts of Penobscot Bay Medical Center, a small hospital in my home 
State of Maine, to bring help to the people of Haiti in this time of 
tragedy.
  The Penobscot Bay Medical Center got its start as an 11-bed hospital 
in 1901. Known then as the Knox County General Hospital, the small 
facility was run at that time by nine doctors. Over the years, the 
hospital had undergone renovations and grown into its present full-
service, 109-bed location. Penobscot Bay employs a medical staff of 
over 85 physicians, allowing the hospital to offer its patients an 
extensive range of specialty and subspecialty services.
  The hospital was named to the 2008 Harvard Pilgrim Health Care 
Hospital

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Honor Roll for being among the top 25 percent of acute care hospitals 
evaluated nationally by the health plan. Additionally, the Maine State 
Employee Health Commission has repeatedly recognized Penobscot Bay 
Medical Center as a tier 1 hospital, and the Maine Health Management 
Coalition's Pathways to Excellence Hospital Measurement and Reporting 
Initiative has given the facility multiple blue ribbon awards based on 
its performance in a number of critical safety and clinical quality 
areas.
  Through the generosity of the hospital, three doctors--general 
surgeon Douglas Cole, urologist Lars Ellison, and orthopedist Kevin 
Olehnik--departed Maine en route to Haiti last Wednesday. Having been 
to the Caribbean nation in the past, as part of a Notre Dame Haiti 
Program trip in 2008, the doctors are all familiar with the people and 
places of Haiti. The Notre Dame Haiti Program, which is led by Father 
Tom Streit of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, is dedicated to 
fighting lymphatic filariasis, a parasitic disease caused by 
microscopic, thread-like worms spread through infected mosquitoes. More 
than 26 percent of the Haitian population has the disease, which is 
prevalent in the subtropical regions of Asia and Africa, as well as 
parts of the Caribbean. In fact, the doctors were set to return to 
Haiti in February to help dozens more people through the Notre Dame 
Haiti Program. Yet after hearing about the earthquake, the doctors 
decided to fly to Haiti as quickly as possible to help with the ongoing 
relief efforts. They are in the country for a week or two, helping 
people with broken bones and performing other general surgeries. Their 
generosity is overwhelming, and it is a true testament to the 
magnanimous spirit of the resolute people of Maine.
  We are defined as a people by what we do in times of tragedy, and I 
am proud to say that these three Mainers have gone above and beyond 
their Hippocratic Oath to willingly put their lives on hold in order to 
help the less fortunate in Haiti. They are extraordinary examples of 
how the American people time and again respond so charitably to the 
misfortunes of others. I commend Drs. Cole, Ellison, and Olehnik for 
their selfless service to others in this time of catastrophe, and I 
thank everyone at Penobscot Bay Medical Center for the remarkable work 
they do day in and day out to keep Mainers healthy.

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