H.R. No. 1879

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, A pioneering physician, Dr. Ruben Amarasingham has
	made extraordinary contributions to health care through his work as
	head of the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation in Dallas; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Amarasingham joined Parkland Hospital in 2002 as
	an attending physician in the Community Oriented Primary Care
	System, where he served as medical director and associate chief of
	medicine for Medicine Services; in 2008, he founded and directed
	the hospital's Center for Clinical Innovation, which led to the
	launch of the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation, a nonprofit
	research and development corporation that he oversees as president
	and chief executive officer; and
	WHEREAS, At PCCI, clinicians work to predict patients' risks
	in developing health problems; PIECES, a groundbreaking software
	system coinvented by Dr. Amarasingham, enables the center's staff
	to analyze electronic health records and use predictive models to
	anticipate adverse effects; the software assists physicians,
	nurses, and administrators in making complex decisions by flagging
	patients susceptible to conditions such as diabetes, pneumonia,
	heart attack, and sepsis; and
	WHEREAS, With financial support from the Commonwealth Fund,
	the National Institutes of Health, and the Gordon and Betty Moore
	Foundation, among other sources, PCCI is developing one of the
	nation's first information exchanges for physicians, case
	managers, and social service organizations; this electronic
	platform enables health care providers to better understand how
	their patients' social conditions may affect their health, which is
	particularly vital for underserved patients who often move back and
	forth between hospitals, clinics, and community health
	organizations; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Amarasingham's efforts to re-engineer patient
	flow in the Parkland Emergency Department, the 14th busiest in the
	U.S., have led to significant reductions in time-to-admission
	orders; furthermore, by using his risk prediction model, Dr.
	Amarasingham cut 30-day readmissions for Medicare patients with
	heart failure by 31 percent; the subject of a comprehensive review
	by the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr.
	Amarasingham's model was found to be one of the most successful of
	more than 7,000 systems in identifying patients at high risk for
	readmission; and
	WHEREAS, A graduate of The University of Texas Southwestern
	Medical Center, Dr. Amarasingham completed a postdoctoral
	fellowship and a master's degree in business administration at
	Johns Hopkins University; the recipient of numerous awards, he was
	designated a Health Care Hero of Dallas by the Dallas Business
	Journal, and UT Southwestern named him a Bryan Williams Scholar for
	Academic Excellence; in 2012, Dr. Amarasingham was one of 10 health
	care professionals chosen from a pool of 850 candidates to receive
	the inaugural Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Young Leader Award;
	and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Ruben Amarasingham has advanced the use of
	health information technology as a vital tool for improving the
	quality and efficiency of medical care, and he is indeed deserving
	of recognition for his impressive record of service; now,
	therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas
	Legislature hereby honor Dr. Ruben Amarasingham for his
	professional achievements and extend to him sincere best wishes for
	continued success; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
	prepared for Dr. Amarasingham as an expression of high regard by the
	Texas House of Representatives.
	Rose
	Straus M. Gonzalez of El Paso Oliveira
	Allen N. Gonzalez of El Paso Orr
	Alonzo Gooden Otto
	Alvarado Guerra Paddie
	Anchia Guillen Parker
	Anderson Gutierrez Patrick
	Ashby Harless Perez
	Aycock Harper-Brown Perry
	Bell Hernandez Luna Phillips
	Bohac Herrero Pickett
	Bonnen of Brazoria Hilderbran Pitts
	Bonnen of Galveston Howard Price
	Branch Huberty Raney
	Burkett Hughes Ratliff
	Burnam Hunter Raymond
	Button Isaac Reynolds
	Callegari Johnson Riddle
	Canales Kacal Ritter
	Capriglione Keffer Rodriguez of Bexar
	Carter King of Hemphill Rodriguez of Travis
	Clardy King of Parker Rose
	Coleman King of Taylor Sanford
	Collier King of Zavala Schaefer
	Cook Kleinschmidt Sheets
	Cortez Klick Sheffield of Bell
	Craddick Kolkhorst Sheffield of Coryell
	Creighton Krause Simmons
	Crownover Kuempel Simpson
	Dale Larson Smith
	Darby Laubenberg Smithee
	Davis of Dallas Lavender Springer
	J. Davis of Harris Leach Stephenson
	S. Davis of Harris Lewis Stickland
	Deshotel Longoria Strama
	Dukes Lozano Taylor
	Dutton Lucio III Thompson of Brazoria
	Eiland Marquez Thompson of Harris
	Elkins Martinez Toth
	Fallon Martinez Fischer Turner of Collin
	Farias McClendon Turner of Harris
	Farney Menendez Turner of Tarrant
	Farrar Miles Villalba
	Fletcher Miller of Comal Villarreal
	Flynn Miller of Fort Bend Vo
	Frank Moody Walle
	Frullo Morrison White
	Geren Munoz, Jr. Workman
	Giddings Murphy Wu
	Goldman Naishtat Zedler
	Gonzales Nevarez Zerwas
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 1879 was adopted by the House on May 8,
	2013, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House