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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate Dr. Jeffrey D.
4Parks on receiving the 2019 Rural Physician of Excellence Award
5from the Illinois Rural Health Association; and
 
6    WHEREAS, One of the biggest healthcare challenges across
7our nation is the shortage of physicians who practice in rural
8settings, especially with the high percentage of older adults
9living in rural America and small towns; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Dr. Parks graduated from the Southern Illinois
11University School of Medicine in 1980; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Dr. Parks completed his residency in family
13practice at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at
14Peoria in 1983; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Dr. Parks began his professional career in the
16rural health arena in private practice in Herrin in 1983, which
17he later expanded to Logan Primary Care in 1994; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Dr. Parks has served as a physician with Southern
19Illinois Medical Services since 2011 and is part of the active
20medical staff at Herrin Hospital; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Dr. Parks takes time to serve as an assistant
2professor at the Southern Illinois University College of
3Medicine, where he has shared his vast knowledge of rural
4medicine with many students who went on to careers in rural
5practice; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Dr. Parks is very dedicated and often provides
7home visits to some of his homebound patients, something rarely
8seen in the 21st century; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Dr. Parks has been instrumental in developing a
10team approach to area long-term care facilities so that
11patients in several local facilities are able to benefit from
12daily visits by medical staff; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Dr. Parks's passion for caring for the underserved
14goes well beyond Illinois and all the way to Liberia, Africa,
15where he volunteered through the years in remote medical
16clinics; and
 
17    WHEREAS, When not making rounds up and down hospital wings,
18Dr. Parks can sometimes be found hiking on the beautiful trails
19of Southern Illinois; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE

 

 

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1HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
2we congratulate Dr. Jeffrey D. Parks on receiving the 2019
3Rural Physician of Excellence Award and commend him for his
4compassion and dedication to his patients and for filling such
5a tremendous void in rural medicine over the past 35 years; and
6be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
8presented to Dr. Parks as a symbol of our respect and esteem.