Madam President, today I share with the Senate a remarkable story, a story about a man, who, simply by living and cherishing his American dream, inspired hundreds--if not thousands--to pursue their own.

  Dr. Kristaps J. Keggi came to New York in 1949 with his parents and three brothers. They were all refugees fleeing a Communist regime controlling their native Latvia. Dr. Keggi's father, a general surgeon, courageously packed up his family and left for Germany when Kris was only 10 years old. Five years later, sponsored by a church in Brooklyn, NY, the family arrived in the United States--with only one dollar between them all.

  Dr. Keggi, then 15, almost immediately started work as an usher at Brooklyn's St. George Hotel. After working and completing high school
at the Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT, Dr. Keggi attended Yale College. As an undergrad, Dr. Keggi joined the Yale fencing team. It is no surprise that he was named team captain! Hard work, dedication, and a commitment to excellence earned Dr. Keggi his bachelor's degree in 1955--and a coveted slot in the Yale School of Medicine's class of 1959.

  After graduating from Yale Medical School, Dr. Kristaps Keggi spent 2 years completing a general surgery residency at Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. He then went on to finish his orthopaedic training at Yale. A few years earlier, in 1957, Dr. Keggi accepted his commission as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve. After completing his residency training in 1964, Dr. Keggi served on active duty for 2 years--one of them in Vietnam. He was the chief of orthopaedic surgery with the 3rd Surgical Hospital north of Saigon and on the Cambodian border of the Central Highlands. The facility was a mobile Army surgical hospital--more commonly known as a helicopter transport MASH” unit.

  During his service in Vietnam, Dr. Keggi expanded his acute surgical and trauma management skills. He also worked closely with Army corpsmen and helicopter personnel to improve the care and outcomes for injured soldiers. I applaud and admire not only his service to a very grateful nation, but also the care, compassion, and devotion he showed each and every American soldier he treated--men who endured the unimaginable, bled, and paid the ultimate price to keep us safe and free. Our country is a better place because of him.

  After completing his Vietnam service, Dr. Keggi returned to Yale in 1966 as an assistant professor. He worked, primarily, in orthopaedic trauma surgery and emergency care. Dr. Keggi immediately saw the need to create staged medical care and advanced trauma management systems. This way, the hospital could provide improved acute medical services to injured patients in New Haven--and all across the country. Dr. Keggi soon obtained a $20,000 grant to develop a trauma program at Yale. His subsequent studies on trauma registries, emergency care of trauma patients, and published scholarly works proved groundbreaking. It was not long before the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded Dr. Keggi another major institutional grant to construct the Surgical Research Building at Yale. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation dollars also helped start the Yale University School of Medicine Physician Associate Program. Over time, the Yale physician assistant program grew to be one of the very best in the country. Today approximately 900 physician assistants have received their degrees from Yale. This achievement is, without a doubt, thanks, in part, to Dr. Keggi's vision and relentless commitment to help change the field of medicine for the better.

  A turning point came in 1986 when Dr. Keggi decided to take a trip to Moscow and watch his daughter Mara row for the United States of America at the first Goodwill games. It was at the games where Dr. Keggi met a group of Latvian surgeons who encouraged him to visit his place of birth--Riga. He agreed. That trip convinced Dr. Keggi it was time to start an exchange program dedicated to orthopaedic teaching and research.

  In 1988, Dr. Keggi established the non-profit Keggi Orthopaedic Foundation which funds medical exchange fellowship training programs for orthopaedic surgeons in the United States, Russia, the Baltic nations, and Vietnam. Foreign doctors come to the United States to observe state-of-the-art medical procedures conducted in Dr. Keggi's Waterbury facility. Upon returning to their home countries, those doctors can implement proven techniques in their own practices--helping alleviate patient pain and suffering. That is Dr. Keggi's vision: helping the orthopaedic community worldwide to offer the highest quality patient care. Each and every day he lives out the foundation's mission to be a dedicated, professional, caring, and compassionate team player seeking only to improve patient quality of life. It is clear these young, foreign doctors appreciate Dr. Keggi's wisdom and experience. He is a seasoned teacher who wants his students' careers to shine--but not for their own personal glory. Instead, his goal is to show the world that each of his students can and will perform at exceptional levels--delivering the very best medical care possible. That is his legacy.

  Dr. Keggi has made, and will continue to make, an indelible mark on our profession. His ambition helps him to achieve his own goals and dreams--at the same time his example encourages other medical professionals to strive to achieve theirs. In 2008, Dr. Keggi returned to the Yale Medical School faculty as a full time professor. And so, it is only fitting that on September 23, 2010, his beloved alma mater will name him the inaugural Elihu Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation. Yale University established this professorship through a combination of private donors to pay tribute to Dr. Keggi. The position will serve as the cornerstone of a joint reconstruction program at the Yale School of Medicine--a center of excellence in clinical care, research, medical education, and training. It is important to know that Yale has already announced its intention to rename the professorship in Dr. Keggi's honor when he decides to leave the teaching post.

  Dr. Keggi's medical and managerial skills have been tested time and time again--from prestigious hospitals to the battlefields of Vietnam. His life's work has brought hope and healing to the physically and emotionally broken. But it is because of his strong family values and devotion to community service that this award is so meaningful to Dr. Keggi. The award shows him exactly how grateful, how proud, and how honored the New Haven community is for his leadership. I am sure Dr. Keggi would tell you that much of his life's success is due, in large part, to the strength of his family. He was blessed to have the love and support of his parents. It was also Dr. Keggi's good fortune that his wife Julia accepted his proposal for marriage. Over the years, Julia has been Dr. Keggi's rock. He regularly says he would not have accomplished his goals without Julia and their three beautiful and talented daughters--Caroline, Catherine, and Mara--by his side.

  I am eternally grateful and proud to call Dr. Kristaps Keggi my friend. He is a respected mentor and adviser. I did my orthopaedic training under Dr. Keggi's watchful eye--assisting him in close to 100 operations. It was my great privilege and incredible fortune to work side-by-side with the man who pioneered the anterior approach to total hip replacements. As an internationally renowned expert in hip and knee replacement surgery, it is quite fitting that the Yale School of Medicine has named him the Elihu Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilition. I ask that my colleagues join me in sending our warmest congratulations to Dr. Keggi and his family for this well-deserved honor.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Reach us via email at info@keggiorthofoundation.org
All patient matters please call (203) 598-0700; email concerning patients will not be answered.