HR0753 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0753 LRB099 14234 GRL 38305 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Dr. Kathy Swafford on the occasion of receiving the 2015 Rural Physician of Excellence Award from the Illinois Rural Health Association; and

WHEREAS, One of the biggest healthcare challenges across our nation is the shortage of physicians who practice in rural settings; and

WHEREAS, In 1981, Dr. Kathy Swafford graduated from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia; she went on to complete her fellowship in pediatric nephrology and residency in pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, where she was Chief Resident and later a Clinical Instructor; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Kathy Swafford began her service in southern Illinois as a pediatrician with the Union County Hospital District in 1998; in 1999, she founded Swafford Pediatrics; and

WHEREAS, Since 2009, Dr. Kathy Swafford has served as the Medical Director of the Children's Medical and Mental Health Resource Network; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Kathy Swafford is highly regarded in the academic world and has trained many physicians who go on to practice in rural areas through her role as Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Kathy Swafford has taken time out of her busy medical career to share her expertise through her active leadership roles in numerous organizations and committees, including the Southern Illinois Medical Society, the Union County Health Department, the Illinois Emergency Medical Services for Children Advisory Board, the Illinois Department of Public Health Immunization Advisory Committee, and the Illinois Association of Maternal and Child Health, to name a few; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Kathy Swafford has dedicated her career to preventing child abuse and death and is one of only 324 Board Certified Child Abuse Pediatricians in the nation; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Kathy Swafford also gives back to her community by singing in her local church choir, donating items to the local mission, and serving on Anna's Animal Shelter's PAWS Board; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Dr. Kathy Swafford on the occasion of receiving the 2015 Rural Physician of Excellence Award and commend her for her selfless service to her community and the impact she has made on improving rural health; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Kathy Swafford as a symbol of our respect and esteem.