House Bill 9031
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HR 9031
By Representative Trovillion
1 House Resolution
2 A resolution in recognition of Dr. Charles R.
3 Mathews.
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5 WHEREAS, Charles R. Mathews was born on January 31,
6 1923, in Norman, Oklahoma, and
7 WHEREAS, Charles R. Mathews received his degree in
8 medicine from the University of Oklahoma and, following a
9 distinguished medical career of more than 30 years in
10 Rochester, New York, and Sarasota, Florida, Dr. Charles R.
11 Mathews served as Medical Director of Sarasota Memorial
12 Hospital from 1984 to 1989, and
13 WHEREAS, since November 1989, Dr. Charles R. Mathews
14 has served as the Assistant Secretary for Health Services of
15 the Florida Department of Corrections, and
16 WHEREAS, as Assistant Secretary for Health Services,
17 Dr. Charles R. Mathews is the highest ranking health care
18 professional in the Department of Corrections, and is directly
19 responsible for the delivery of health care to the inmate
20 population in the State of Florida, and
21 WHEREAS, Dr. Mathews is the ultimate authority in the
22 Department of Corrections for health care decisions and is
23 responsible for planning, budgeting, allocation of health care
24 resources, establishment of health care standards and
25 policies, provision of technical assistance, and quality
26 evaluation of the health care programs within the department,
27 and
28 WHEREAS, Dr. Mathews is responsible for the health care
29 of more than 68,000 inmates currently incarcerated within the
30 Florida correctional system, plus approximately 20,000 persons
31 who are admitted into the system annually, and
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HR 9031
563-150A-99
1 WHEREAS, there are more than 2,800 health care
2 professionals who function under the direction of Dr. Mathews,
3 providing for the health care needs of Florida's inmates and
4 handling 2.9 million health care encounters within the system
5 annually, and
6 WHEREAS, during Dr. Mathews' tenure, the health care
7 system of the Florida Department of Corrections has achieved
8 national recognition for the quality of health care delivered
9 to the inmate population and for its cost-effectiveness, and
10 WHEREAS, among Dr. Mathews' many other accomplishments
11 as Assistant Secretary for Health Services is the founding of
12 the Correctional Bioethics Committee in 1994, of which Dr.
13 Mathews has served as chairperson since its inception, and
14 WHEREAS, the Correctional Bioethics Committee, which
15 includes a majority of ethicists from outside the various
16 state correctional systems, considers issues of special
17 concern regarding treatment of the incarcerated population,
18 and
19 WHEREAS, under the direction of Dr. Mathews, the
20 Florida Department of Corrections has assured that treatment
21 of inmates with HIV and AIDS meets current community
22 standards, and
23 WHEREAS, among the efforts to this end are the ongoing
24 education of medical staff and inmates, a planned 120-bed
25 Special Care Unit for advanced or complicated AIDS cases, and
26 close affiliation with University of Miami AIDS researchers
27 and clinicians, and
28 WHEREAS, in 1997, the Assistant Secretary for Health
29 Services began offering carefully selected AIDS patients
30 access to new investigational drugs, under FDA-approved
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HR 9031
563-150A-99
1 protocols, in cooperation with University of Miami AIDS
2 specialists, and
3 WHEREAS, in 1998, a miniresidency of correctional
4 health care providers rotating through the AIDS Special Care
5 Unit was begun, with faculty drawn from nationally recognized
6 AIDS experts, and funding provided by grant, at no cost to the
7 department, and
8 WHEREAS, Dr. Charles R. Mathews has assured that
9 up-to-date training in inmate medical care is provided to
10 physicians and other health care providers through regional
11 programs and statewide workshops, and
12 WHEREAS, also during Dr. Mathews' tenure, the 21-year
13 federal court supervision of the Florida Department of
14 Corrections was brought to a close in March 1993, and
15 WHEREAS, as Assistant Secretary for Health Services,
16 Dr. Charles R. Mathews is responsible for vast and
17 far-reaching improvements in the delivery of inmate medical
18 care in the State of Florida, improvements which serve as a
19 model for correctional systems throughout the nation, and
20 WHEREAS, it is fitting and appropriate that the
21 Legislature of the State of Florida recognize Dr. Charles R.
22 Mathews for his numerous contributions as Assistant Secretary
23 for Health Services, NOW, THEREFORE,
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25 Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
26 Florida:
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28 That the House of Representatives of the State of
29 Florida hereby recognizes Dr. Charles R. Mathews for his
30 numerous contributions as Assistant Secretary for Health
31 Services of the Florida Department of Corrections.
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HR 9031
563-150A-99
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution
2 be transmitted to Dr. Charles R. Mathews as a tangible token
3 of the sentiments expressed herein.
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