The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TRIBUTE TO VICTORIA CECH” mentioning Jon Tester was published in the Senate section on pages S2222-S2223 on April 27.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO VICTORIA CECH
Mr. TESTER. Madam President, I rise today to extend my sincere appreciation to Victoria Cech, who is planning on retiring from her position as the executive director of the Montana Health Research and Education Foundation. The citizens of my State are truly grateful for her tireless efforts to improve thehealth of all Montanans.
During her tenure at the foundation, Victoria was responsible for managing our State's hospital flexibility and frontier community health improvement programs, both of which provide vital support to our State's critical access hospitals. Why is this important? Because Montana has the distinction if not losing a single critical access hospital since the program's inception. It is the work of the foundation and Victoria's tireless leadership that has contributed to this great success.
But her work did not stop there. She continued to lead efforts to improve care in Montana by expanding two of the area health education centers managed by the foundation. These efforts led the charge in addressing behavioral health needs in our State, even bringing national attention to Montana when the foundation partnered with the National Council for Behavioral Health and Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation to complete the Teen Mental Health First Aid pilot program at Jefferson High School in Boulder.
Patient safety and quality improvement are also major focuses of the foundation. Victoria pioneered these efforts, leading a quality improvement team that moved Montana's hospitals into the highest ranked position within the Hospital Improvement Innovation Network hosted by the American Hospital Association's Health Research & Education Trust.
In 2014, Victoria was at the helm of the foundation when our country saw its first Ebola patient. The foundation was managing the hospital preparedness program--HPP--which it continues to do today. With five Montana residents under Ebola surveillance, the preparedness program quickly ramped up to raise awareness in hospitals across the State. That preparedness work has expanded dramatically since then, bringing in four full-time planners who played a large role in helping Montana prepare for and manage the coronavirus pandemic.
All 50 States are also experiencing an epidemic of drug addiction and opioid use that has hit Montana particularly hard, especially on the high line. The Montana Hospital Association and its foundation took this reality to heart and worked to expand its education and engagement work to move the needle on reversing opioid addiction. Under Victoria's leadership, the foundation was successful in securing a Rural Communities Opioid Response Program grant that is currently helping to address opioid addiction along the Canadian border and increasing engagement in our Tribal communities.
With all the work that Victoria has done, she has not overlooked the needs of her team members or those of the Montana Hospital Association. When the pandemic halted in-person education in Helena area schools, Victoria looked for a solution to support the parents at the association and ultimately converted the educational center into a classroom for virtual learning, dubbed the MHA Learning Center. Staffed by a full-time teacher, parents could now go to work knowing their children would not slip in their classwork and instead continue to make educational gains.
A lifelong learner, her passion for education will continue after her retirement as she supports her husband and president of Carroll College, John Cech, in positioning the college to be a national leader in higher education.
Victoria is a gifted leader who has had a meaningful impact on the lives of all Montanans, and we are very grateful for her dedication to keeping folks healthy across the Big Sky State.
Congratulations, Victoria Cech, on your much deserved retirement.
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