Political Quotes

“I rise to pay tribute to Niswonger Children's Hospital in Johnson City, Tennessee. On March 2, 2009, the hospital will open its doors and the new home for the Children's Hospital, our region's first hospital for children. The Children's Hospital at Johnson City Medical Center has offered premier health services in approximately 20 pediatric subspecialties for the past 16 years. Once open, Niswonger Children's Hospital will serve children from birth until 18 years of age in a four-State region, including parts of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky. With the financial assistance of Scott and Nikki Niswonger and the people of our region, the hospital will be a place where children will feel comfortable coming to for their care. Niswonger's patient-centered care philosophy will put families in control of their care, and I certainly commend them for their work Madam Speaker, when I began my medical practice some 30-plus years ago in Johnson City, we used a closet and had a one-bed neonatal intensive care unit. Today, we have a state-of-the-art intensive care unit to care for children. When I began practice, when I graduated from medical school, almost half of the children who were born at 7 months died. Today, they have the same life expectancy as a term birth, and from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank this family for what they have done to make the health care of our region better and our children's lives better.”