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Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I wish to recognize Dr. Floyd Woolcott
of Borrego Springs, CA, on the occasion of his 20th consecutive year
of practice in that community and the 54th year in his medical
career.
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At age 82, Dr. Woolcott still makes house calls. This is
particularly significant since residents in Borrego Valley, centered
in the 600,000 acre Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, are isolated in
a radius of 50 miles from trauma care facilities.
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The Borrego Springs population fluctuates between 3,000 during
peak summer months to 8,500 in the winter months, a condition that
makes it extremely difficult to encourage qualified medical
practitioners to move their practices to this community.
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Dr. Woolcott arrived in Borrego Springs in November 1971 after 3
1/2 years as a general practitioner in Fairbanks, AK. His time in
Alaska was preceded by a 22-year practice in Lake Oswego, OR.
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Dr. Woolcott, in a newspaper interview, noted that he came to
Borrego Springs as a transition into semiretirement, but it has
never materialized.
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The only period when the physician can take time off is during
the summer months when winter visitors return home and the
population shrinks. `This is the only time I can risk taking some
time off,' he observes.
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Three years ago, even the summer months brought no respite. When
the community's medical clinic was forced to close due to a loss of
its parent organization, Dr. Woolcott, in conjunction with qualified
personnel from the fire department, assumed the responsibility of
providing emergency medical care throughout the summer.
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While he has since been joined by a medical center staff of two
doctors, two nurses, and an administrative support staff, Dr.
Woolcott was the only medical representative in Borrego Springs for
most of the 20 years he has served the community.
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Among his many tasks as a doctor during that period of time, he
has given injections to race horses and intravenous solutions to
injured coyotes. He even recalls a time when he had to pull a sea
captain's wisdom tooth in the absence of a dentist.
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On April 10, 1992, residents in Borrego Springs are expected to
rally for the fourth consecutive year, contributing to and
participating in the Woolcott Invitational Golf Tournament, a
fund-raising effort that helps offset overhead operating costs of
the medical center.
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Naming the annual benefit in honor of Dr. Woolcott serves as a
continuing tribute by the community to their country doctor. For the
past 3 years and today as well, Dr. Woolcott has continued to play a
large role in helping organize the fund-raising activities. At a
time when increasing numbers of Americans are forced to go without
health insurance and health care costs continue to go through the
roof, Dr. Floyd L. Woolcott demonstrates what selfless devotion to
professional-medical ethics can accomplish.
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Dr. Woolcott's example should provide health professionals
everywhere with the inspiration to rise above the current
professional-economic-political problems that plague them at every
turn and return to the business of caring for people.
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The occasion of Dr. Woolcott's 20th anniversary as the country
doctor still making house calls in Borrego Springs at age 82,
commands my deepest respect and admiration. I am pleased to endorse
the interest and efforts of Borrego Springs residents as they engage
in self-help programs such as the fourth annual Woolcott
Invitational Gold Tournament in response to the growing health care
problems in America.
