[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17392]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          A TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF THE LIFE OF DAVID DRUKER, M.D.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 2010

  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of an 
extraordinary physician and a distinguished constituent of California's 
14th Congressional District, Dr. David Druker. After 35 years as a 
healer and leader in the medical community, Dr. Druker passed away on 
July 23, 2010, following a three-year struggle with lung cancer.
   Dr. Druker was trained as a clinical dermatologist, but his interest 
in people was anything but skin-deep. First as a practitioner and 
professor, then later as an executive, he always sought to engage those 
around him, to collaborate with and learn from his colleagues and 
friends. In this way, he nurtured ties between the medical profession 
and the broader Peninsula community, becoming a pillar of the Palo Alto 
Medical Foundation and the catalyst for an expanding and increasingly 
effective community health network.
   With all of Dr. Druker's gifts as a doctor and director, it's hard 
to imagine him in any other profession. But he did not initially intend 
to enter medicine. Raised in Marshalltown, Iowa, Dr. Druker received 
his Bachelors Degree in Economics from Harvard University and was 
accepted by the University of Michigan Law School before changing his 
mind and entering the University of Iowa Medical School, under the 
condition that he make up his pre-med requirements first. Dr. Druker's 
precipitous career change brought him an avalanche of science 
coursework and ultimately brought Palo Alto residents an exceptional 
doctor. With his penchant for quiet understatement, Dr. Druker recalled 
his first year of medical school as ``a fun year.''
   He married his wife Karen in 1966 and served two years in the U.S. 
Army before finishing his residency at the University of Oregon in 
1975. After a year of private practice in Portland, Dr. Druker moved to 
Palo Alto to join what was then the Palo Alto Medical Clinic. While 
seeing 30 dermatology patients a day and teaching at the Stanford 
University School of Medicine, Dr. Druker rose to hold a number of 
leadership positions in the clinic and in regional and national 
organizations. He became Executive Director and then Chief Operating 
Officer of what had become, under his leadership, the Palo Alto Medical 
Foundation (PAMF), before being named President and Chief Executive 
Officer of PAMF in 1999.
   Guided by Dr. Druker's vision of high-quality outpatient care and 
his ``multi-specialty group practice'' healthcare model, PAMF vastly 
expanded its range and its roster. The Foundation grew from 120 to 
nearly 1,000 physicians and now serves locations throughout the Bay 
Area, including Sunnyvale, Fremont, Los Altos, San Carlos, and 
Burlingame. Dr. Druker played a leading role in cementing the alliance 
between PAMF and Sutter Health in 1993, further integrating and 
enhancing community health services. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation 
remembered Dr. Druker as man who had ``a particular passion for 
children and education, and fostered long standing partnerships with 
schools.'' Along with his commitment to the health of youth, Dr. Druker 
promoted the idea of a ``Center for Innovation'' at PAMF to generate 
new and better approaches to clinical care.
   Dr. Druker made countless contributions to the wider medical 
community as well. He chaired the American Medical Group Association 
and the California Medical Group Association, and served on the Board 
of the Unified Medical Group Association. He was a Trustee of the 
California Medical Association, a Fellow of the American Academy of 
Dermatology, and belonged to the Santa Clara County Medical Society, 
the California Medical Association, and the American Medical 
Association, among other affiliations. In addition to these 
responsibilities, Dr. Druker found time to author papers and textbooks 
on dermatology and medical administration, all the while devoting 
himself to his wife, his children, and his grandchildren.
   Dr. Druker's impressive accomplishments have immeasurably enriched 
our community, but perhaps his most lasting legacy lies in the devoted 
care of his patients. One patient remembered him as ``a great guy and a 
fantastic doctor,'' a physician whose gentleness left the patient 
``with this lasting fondness after all these years.'' Another simply 
and powerfully noted that back in the early 1980's, ``he saved my 
boyfriend's life.''
   Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our 
deepest condolences to Dr. Druker's wife, Karen; his children, Daniel 
and Ellie; his five grandchildren; and his two sisters, Hannah and 
Leah. Dr. Druker's intellect and passion led him to become the human 
foundation of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and the Peninsula's 
physician and friend. Whether diagnosing a patient or directing new and 
exciting health advances, Dr. David Druker's warm heart and healing 
hands will be missed by all who were touched by his dedication and 
humanity.

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