[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13527]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    COMMEMORATING THE GRAND OPENING OF THE NEW AMERICAN SOCIETY OF 
           ANESTHESIOLOGISTS BUILDING IN SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TAMMY DUCKWORTH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 29, 2014

  Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome the American 
Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), their more than 200 employees and 
their beautiful new headquarters building to Schaumburg, Illinois.
  The American Society of Anesthesiologists represents more than 52,000 
members and is a cutting edge education and professional association. 
ASA is dedicated to the advancement and study of the practice of 
anesthesiology, with patient safety and standards of care at the core 
of its mission.
  For more than 100 years, this association has worked to ensure that 
all Americans have access to high-quality and safe health care, and has 
been active in ensuring Congress does all it can to protect patient 
safety.
  Anesthesiology was one of the first medical specialties to champion 
patient safety as a specific focus, leading to the creation of the 
independent Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation in 1985. This 
organization, supported by the ASA, works to assure that no patient 
will be harmed by anesthesia. This has led to national standards of 
practice, a rare feat for a medical professional society.
  In its new state-of-the-art headquarters, ASA can better highlight 
the important role of physician anesthesiologists and their 
responsibility for patient care before, during, and after surgery. 
Since 2008, ASA has showcased its focus on patient safety through the 
Anesthesia Quality Institute, which develops and maintains a registry 
of case data that helps physician anesthesiologists assess and improve 
patient care. Additionally, ASA has maintained focus on the best 
methods of improving patient safety and recovery, developing the 
Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH), an innovative model of delivering 
health care during the entire patient surgical experience from the time 
of the decision for surgery until patient recovery.
  The new facility features an updated Wood Library and Museum of 
Anesthesiology, which highlights these and other important historical 
developments of the practice of anesthesiology from its origin as the 
first organized anesthesia society in Long Island, NY.
  From the Land of Lincoln to our nation's capital, the importance of 
patient safety continues to be a top priority. This is reflected in the 
Dr. Crawford Long statue, the father of anesthesiology, here in the 
U.S. Capitol building, a reminder of the ongoing efforts to develop the 
safest and most effective methods of anesthesiology and pain relief. 
Through the education, advocacy and involvement of ASA, the medical 
field of anesthesiology continues to grow and advance.
  I am proud to rise and stand in support of the American Society of 
Anesthesiologists. Thank you for all that you have done and continue to 
do for patient safety within the field of anesthesiology. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in thanking them for their efforts and 
congratulating them on their new headquarters located in the Eighth 
District of Illinois.

                          ____________________