[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4180]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                     IN TRIBUTE TO JOHN BARTKOWSKI

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. GWEN MOORE

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 13, 2017

  Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize John Bartkowski who 
is retiring from the Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers on March 
31, 2017. He retires as CEO and President at the organization after 
serving for nearly 30 years.
  Mr. Bartkowski has spent much of his career at the Sixteenth Street 
Community Health Centers making an extraordinary impact on the lives of 
the people they serve through both innovation and growth. When John 
started at Sixteenth Street they had one storefront location and now 
have 5 sites. Over the decades he has led the organization as a 
tireless advocate and provider of quality care for community health 
concerns to make a real difference in the lives of the people they 
serve. 84 percent of the individuals they serve are Hispanic/Latino, 19 
percent are uninsured and 65 percent are at 100 percent of the Federal 
Poverty Level or under. There is a huge need for quality bilingual 
services and Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers has met that 
need on all levels.
  While at the helm of Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers some 
of John's most notable achievements in addition to expansion include: 
the creation of an Environmental Health Department to address lead 
poisoning and asthma issues, formation of HIV/AIDS outreach which was 
later expanded to a Department, addition of Behavioral Health Services, 
Accreditation by the Joint Commission and initiation of the Annual 
Celebrity Roast to raise funds for the clinic. While he could have been 
satisfied with maintaining a focus solely on the clinic, John 
Bartkowski sought to better the entire community. He applied for 
funding and worked with partners to improve blighted areas like the 
Menomonee Valley and brought bike trails and new businesses to the 
area. John truly believes in the concept that a society becomes more 
vibrant and productive when it is inclusive and he has walked that 
talk.
  I am grateful to have had the opportunity to know and work with John 
Bartkowski for many years on a myriad of health issues. I join with 
friends and colleagues to congratulate him as he transitions into a 
different phase of his life.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to honor John Bartkowski. The citizens of the 
Fourth Congressional District and the State of Wisconsin are privileged 
to have someone of his ability and dedicated service working on their 
behalf for so many years. I thank him for all that he has done and I am 
indeed honored for these reasons to pay tribute to John Bartkowski.

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