[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 9390-9391]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    A TRIBUTE TO DR. RAMANATHAN RAJU

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 19, 2012

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute and to honor 
Ramanathan (Ram) Raju, MD, MBA, FACS, FACHE. He is the Chief Executive 
Officer for the Cook County Health & Hospital System (CCHHS) in 
Chicago, Illinois. CCHHS is the 3rd largest public health system in the 
country which oversees a comprehensive, integrated system with several 
parts; an acute care hospital with a Level 1 Trauma Center and a 
Community Hospital; a Regional Outpatient Center; a Correctional 
Healthcare Facility; an Outpatient Infectious Disease Center 
specializing in the treatment of HIV/AIDS; 16 community clinics and a 
public health department.
  Prior to accepting the role of CEO of Cook County Health & Hospital 
System (CCHHS), Dr. Raju served as the New York City Health and 
Hospital Corporation's (HHC) Executive Vice President, Corporate Chief 
Operating Officer and Chief Medical Officer since 2006. During his 
tenure in health care spanning over 30 years, Dr. Raju served in 
various leadership positions in not for profit and public hospital 
systems in New York. He served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief 
Medical officer at Coney Island Hospital and Senior Vice

[[Page 9391]]

President and Director of Medical Education at Lutheran Health System.
  Dr. Raju began his professional career in India. He attended Madras 
Medical College to earn his medical diploma and subsequently did a 
residency in Surgery culminating in a Master of Surgery degree. He 
underwent further training in England and was elected as a Fellow of 
the Royal College of Surgeons. He served in various capacities in 
England and subsequently underwent surgical training in the United 
States. Dr. Raju also did a fellowship in Vascular Surgery. He is Board 
Certified in Surgery and is a fellow of the American College of 
Surgeons. He has held the position of Clinical Professor in multiple 
Medical Schools. He has been actively involved in teaching residents 
and medical students for many years, and won the Best Teacher award 
many times throughout his career. He is an avid researcher and has 
published many articles in peer review journals. Dr. Raju is also a 
physician executive, having obtained an MBA from the University of 
Tennessee and CPE from the American College of Physician Executives. He 
currently serves as an adjunct professor in Business Management at the 
University of Tennessee. He has held many positions in Healthcare 
Organizations, including Director of Surgery, Director of Trauma, 
Director of Surgical Research, and Director of Medical Education. He 
has also served on various local and state wide committees including 
the American Hospital Association Region 2 Governance Board and on the 
President's Forum: The Acute Post Acute Hospital Continuum, a Member of 
the National Quality Forum steering Committee ``National Voluntary 
Consensus Standards for emergency Care--Phase II Hospital based 
Emergency and Research Committee. Dr. Raju's professional society 
memberships include the American College of Physician Executives and 
the American College of Surgeons. He was recently selected as one of 
the top 25 minority health care executives in the country by Modern 
Health care Magazine.
  Dr. Raju married a fellow resident he met at Madras Medical College, 
urologist Samanthi Raju. They have a son and a daughter. Dr. Raju lives 
in Chicago's South Loop.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing Dr. Raju 
for his successful career and his dedication to community health.

                          ____________________