April 18, 2008
Congressional Record recognizes the late Bertram Coffer, M.D.
Below is a statement made by Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC) recognizing the late Bertram Coffer, M.D., in the proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives on April 16, 2008.
A long-time ASA member, Dr. Coffer was the first recipient of the ASA Excellence in Government award, former chair of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, and a member of the ASAPAC Executive Board. He passed away on April 10, 2008.
Congressional Record, April 16, 2008 (includes spoken and written comments)
HONORING DR. BERTRAM W. COFFER -- (House of Representatives - April 16, 2008)
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(Mr. HAYES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize a pillar in the medical community, as well as a friend, Dr. Bertram W. Coffer, who recently passed away.
Coffer's medical career began in 1975 when he joined Raleigh Anesthesia Associates. He was 34 years old and married to the former Jeanne Gardner, a registered nurse he had met in a Duke University Medical Center operating room while working as a scrub nurse to pay his way through NC State University.
He later served in the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant Commander, had 2 years of surgery residency at Duke, and completed his residency in anesthesiology at UNC-Chapel Hill. Coffer went on to become not only a certified anesthesiologist, but someone who brought added value to the care of all patients.
Burt instituted many positive changes in the way his practice operated in the community hospital. Today, the American Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists touts the Raleigh Practice Center/Critical Health Systems model, whose essence reflects one of Burt Coffer's philosophies, which was, ``Act like a physician first, and always make yourself indispensable and worthwhile.'' Certainly, the redefinition of anesthesiology by Coffer and RPC/Critical Health Systems helped change the future of the specialty.
What a dear friend and wonderful human being. Our thoughts, prayers and sympathy go out to Jeanne, his wife, children Burt, Natalie and Holly, and all their families. We will miss you, Burt.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize a pillar in the medical community as well as a friend, Dr. Bertram W. Coffer, 66, who passed away on Thursday, April 10, 2008, at Rex Hospital. He was a native of Sanford, and predeceased by his parents, Dalton and Virginia Coffer, and a sister, Carol Thompson.
Bert was a dedicated and caring physician for 43 years serving at Rex Hospital for the last 33 years. He was a graduate of NCSU in 1964, UNC Medical School in 1969. He completed a surgical residency at Duke from 1969 until 1971 as well as an anesthesia residency at UNC in 1975. He began practicing in 1975 when he joined Dr. Lewis Gaskins and Raleigh Anesthesia Associates, which he eventually incorporated and developed into Critical Health Systems. One of his guiding philosophies was ``Act like a physician first and always make yourself indispensable and worthwhile''. He had a vision for the advancement of anesthesiology into new areas such as intensive care, critical care, pain management, and total patient care. He served as CEO from 1975-1996. He was a member of numerous boards, including the Rex Hospital Executive Committee and the Ravenscroft Board of Directors. He was also president of the Royster Medical Society in 1983 and the president of the Wake County Medical Society in 1986. In addition, he was an active member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists for over
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30 years, serving on many committees and receiving the North Carolina Society of Anesthesiology's Distinguished Service Award. In 1974 he worked with Project Hope at the University of West Indies in Jamaica. During the Vietnam war era he was commissioned as a Lt. Commander and stationed at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida as an anesthesiologist. As an NCSU alumni he was still active and established the Caldwell-Coffer scholarship.
His strong commitment to his country led him to a very active role in politics and public policy.