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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate Dr. Katherine | ||||||
| 4 | Austman on receiving the "2012 Rural Physician of Excellence | ||||||
| 5 | Award" from the Illinois Rural Health Association; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Dr. Austman received her medical degree from the | ||||||
| 7 | University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford in 2001; | ||||||
| 8 | and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, One of the biggest healthcare challenges across | ||||||
| 10 | our nation is the shortage of physicians who practice in rural | ||||||
| 11 | settings; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, After completing her residency in Family Practice | ||||||
| 13 | at the Methodist Medical Center of Illinois in Peoria, Dr. | ||||||
| 14 | Austman began her service to the rural residents of Ford County | ||||||
| 15 | when she joined the staff at Gibson Area Hospital; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Dr. Austman's certifications in Neonatal | ||||||
| 17 | Resuscitation, Advanced Life Support for Obstetrics, Pediatric | ||||||
| 18 | Advanced Life Support, and Advanced Cardiac Life Support allow | ||||||
| 19 | her to provide the utmost in care to rural families; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Because of her hard work and respect of her | ||||||
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| 1 | colleagues, Dr. Austman is the current Chief of Medical Staff | ||||||
| 2 | at Gibson Area Hospital; and | ||||||
| 3 | WHEREAS, Dr. Austman's commitment to providing access to | ||||||
| 4 | healthcare to "brand new rural residents" is exemplified in | ||||||
| 5 | cases in which she delivered babies in non-traditional | ||||||
| 6 | settings, such as her office or at the home of a new mom, who at | ||||||
| 7 | the time was not even a patient; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, Dr. Austman often sees patients after hours and in | ||||||
| 9 | her own home if necessary, in order for there not to be any | ||||||
| 10 | delays in care; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, In order to expose young people to careers in | ||||||
| 12 | medicine, Dr. Austman provides transportation to the | ||||||
| 13 | community's elementary school students so they can participate | ||||||
| 14 | in Gibson Area Hospital's annual "School Tours"; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Dr. Austman provides health education to her | ||||||
| 16 | community by being an active participant in area health fairs; | ||||||
| 17 | and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, Dr. Austman supports many local charities' 5K runs | ||||||
| 19 | and rallies the rest of the medical staff to join her; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Dr. Austman supervises a physician assistant in | ||||||
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| 1 | order to expand the care rural residents in her community | ||||||
| 2 | receive; therefore, be it
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| 3 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 4 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 5 | we commend Dr. Katherine Austman on the impacts she makes on | ||||||
| 6 | improving access to rural health care; and be it further
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| 7 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 8 | presented to Dr. Austman as a symbol of our respect and esteem.
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