1-1 1 1-2 SENATE RESOLUTION 1-3 WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is especially proud 1-4 to honor Dr. James W. Simpson for his significant contributions 1-5 to Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi; and 1-6 WHEREAS, Dr. Simpson is being recognized with an appreciation 1-7 dinner at Kings Crossing Country Club in Corpus Christi on 1-8 February 13, 1997, in celebration of the new cardiac catheterization 1-9 laboratory that will be named in his honor; and 1-10 WHEREAS, The new $2.5 million, state-of-the-art pediatric 1-11 catheterization lab will benefit the children of South Texas with 1-12 the latest technology for the diagnosis and treatment of congenital 1-13 heart disease and cardiac abnormalities in children; and 1-14 WHEREAS, A pediatric cardiologist and Chief of Cardiology at 1-15 Driscoll Children's Hospital, Dr. Simpson maintains a prosperous 1-16 private practice while providing free care to needy children 1-17 around the state, traveling as much as 80,000 miles a year to 1-18 make his visits; and 1-19 WHEREAS, He shares his expertise with residents of the 1-20 rural areas of South Texas, where residents often cannot afford 1-21 specialists; at least four mornings a week the doctor tours his 1-22 clinics and returns in the evening to see private-practice patients; 1-23 his two associates and staff are trained to perform many of the 2-1 duties the doctor ordinarily would have to take the time to do 2-2 himself; and 2-3 WHEREAS, His clinics and home office are efficient, professional 2-4 operations whose large patient load is made possible by an increased 2-5 reliance on the skills of the highly trained staff; by the time a 2-6 doctor sees a patient, most of the preliminary work is done; and 2-7 WHEREAS, The good doctor began his unique practice in 1968 2-8 when he had just finished cardiology training at Baylor College of 2-9 Medicine and joined the staff of the Driscoll Foundation Children's 2-10 Hospital; to develop a lucrative private practice in his speciality, 2-11 Dr. Simpson needed to extend his practice to an area of two million 2-12 people, which required him to reach many of the towns in South Texas; 2-13 and 2-14 WHEREAS, The young doctor worked with the public health 2-15 departments to establish free pediatric cardiology clinics and 2-16 volunteered his time and travel expenses to serve the clinics; and 2-17 WHEREAS, The only fees collected were from the patients who 2-18 came to his office, but Driscoll Hospital guaranteed him a minimum 2-19 income, and the state public health department began paying for 2-20 some of the indigent care in 1970; as his practice expanded, 2-21 Dr. Simpson added two associates to staff the home office and 2-22 together the doctors see about 14,000 patients a year; and 2-23 WHEREAS, The doctor has trained pediatric nurse practitioners 2-24 to run the clinics; each clinic is staffed by a full-time nurse 2-25 practitioner and a clerk; Dr. Simpson established the Children's 3-1 Heart Institute of Texas, a nonprofit foundation, to sponsor the 3-2 clinics and pay the clinic personnel and other expenses; the 3-3 institute receives public funds and grants from the United States 3-4 and Texas departments of health; and 3-5 WHEREAS, Today, his practice provides services to children 3-6 through 22 clinics located throughout the region, and he maintains 3-7 hospital privileges in 22 hospitals in that area; and 3-8 WHEREAS, The residents of South Texas have benefitted 3-9 immeasurably from the care and concern of this compassionate 3-10 physician whose great rewards are the gratitude of his patients; 3-11 now, therefore, be it 3-12 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 3-13 75th Legislature, hereby commend Dr. James W. Simpson for 3-14 his magnificent work in caring for his patients throughout 3-15 his medical career; and, be it further 3-16 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for 3-17 this distinguished doctor as an expression of the appreciation and 3-18 high regard of the Texas Senate. 3-19 Truan 3-20 Armbrister Galloway Ogden 3-21 Barrientos Harris Patterson 3-22 Bivins Haywood Ratliff 3-23 Brown Lindsay Shapiro 3-24 Cain Lucio Shapleigh 3-25 Carona Luna Sibley 3-26 Duncan Madla Wentworth 3-27 Ellis Moncrief West 3-28 Fraser Nelson Whitmire 3-29 Gallegos Nixon Zaffirini 3-30 Bullock, President of the Senate 3-31 ______________________________________ 3-32 President of the Senate 4-1 I hereby certify that the above 4-2 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 4-3 on February 13, 1997. 4-4 ______________________________________ 4-5 Secretary of the Senate 4-6 ______________________________________ 4-7 Dean of the Senate