By Finnell                                            H.R. No. 1044
       74R13724 KMP-D
                                  R E S O L U T I O N
    1-1        WHEREAS, On January 12, 1995, Vernon State Hospital became
    1-2  the first facility in the Texas Department of Mental Health and
    1-3  Mental Retardation (TDMHMR) system to be recommended for release
    1-4  from federal court oversight; and
    1-5        WHEREAS, This day marked a great milestone for psychiatric
    1-6  care in the State of Texas; TDMHMR institutions have operated under
    1-7  federal supervision for more than 20 years, and it was not until
    1-8  1992, with the settlement of the lawsuit RAJ v. Jones, that the
    1-9  State of Texas and the federal government finally established
   1-10  criteria by which Texas psychiatric care facilities could earn
   1-11  release from federal court oversight; and
   1-12        WHEREAS, These criteria led the former acting deputy
   1-13  commissioner of the TDMHMR, Don Gilbert, to engineer the agency's
   1-14  Quality System Oversight Plan, an innovative continuous quality
   1-15  improvement initiative that has won national acclaim for its new
   1-16  approaches to mental health care management; adopted under the
   1-17  leadership of deputy commissioner Steven P. Shon, M.D., this
   1-18  remarkable program has yielded impressive results throughout the
   1-19  TDMHMR system and is expected to win back state control of the
   1-20  Texas psychiatric hospital system; and
   1-21        WHEREAS, Under the able guidance of Superintendent James E.
   1-22  Smith and Clinical Director John Bateman, M.D., the staff and
   1-23  doctors  of Vernon State Hospital have quickly and enthusiastically
   1-24  implemented this plan and, by providing the most professional and
    2-1  compassionate mental health care available anywhere, have set a
    2-2  shining example for all Texas medical professionals to follow;
    2-3  these exceptional individuals have ushered in a new era for
    2-4  psychiatric care in Texas and have, above all else, helped to make
    2-5  this state a better place in which to live for Texans whose lives
    2-6  are touched by mental illness; now, therefore, be it
    2-7        RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 74th Texas
    2-8  Legislature hereby congratulate the staff members and managers of
    2-9  Vernon State Hospital on their outstanding accomplishment; and, be
   2-10  it further
   2-11        RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
   2-12  prepared for Vernon State Hospital as an expression of high regard
   2-13  by the Texas House of Representatives.