Recognizing Tess Kuenning

Floor Speech

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Mr. PAPPAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Tess Kuenning, president and CEO of Bi-State Primary Care Association. Her community-based approach to public health and exceptional leadership have significantly improved both the quality and accessibility of health care in New Hampshire, Vermont, and the rest of the country.

Tess has dedicated her entire career to improving public health. After earning her Master's in Nursing and Public/Community Health in 1990, she worked in Nepal as a Peace Corps nurse for five years. There, Tess taught women to be birth attendants and designed sustainable maternal and child health programs. While Tess loved working one-on-one with patients and clinicians, she wanted to expand her impact to the community level, pushing her to transition to public health. After returning to the United States, she worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as the principal public health advisor throughout New England and as a nurse consultant for the Health Care Finance Administration.

For the past thirty years, Tess has led Bi-State Primary Case Association, which advocates for Community Health Centers in New Hampshire and Vermont. Community Health Centers play a crucial role in delivering primary care, especially in areas where medical services are limited or unaffordable. Offering accessible, preventive, and routine care, they serve as a vital lifeline for low and moderate-income families who might otherwise go without essential health services. As president and CEO of Bi-State PCA, Tess has been instrumental in leveraging her clinical background, experience in public health, and many connections to stakeholders, nonprofits, and Congressional Offices like my own to uplift community health centers in our state. Under her leadership, Bi-State has grown from a staff of 6 to over 20 and now serves over 312,000 patients across New Hampshire and Vermont.

I have had the pleasure of meeting with Tess multiple times over the past few years, and I am always inspired by her determination, creativity, positivity, and genuine passion for community health. I am so grateful to Tess for sharing her experience and knowledge with me and other Members of Congress, helping us improve our healthcare system. Tess is a true leader and public servant, and I want to acknowledge the profound positive impact she has had on community health in her community.

On behalf of my constituents in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District, I thank Tess Kuenning for her selflessness and dedication to the patients she serves. Her dedication to advocating for community health centers has improved healthcare in our state and has made her community a better place. Tess's work has brought us one step closer to ensuring that health care is a right, not a privilege, for all. I wish her all the best in the years to come.

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