[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13] [Senate] [Page 17275] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO WAYNE S. FENTON, M.D. Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Wayne S. Fenton, M.D., Director of the Division of Adult Translational Research and Associate Director for Clinical Affairs at the National Institute of Mental Health who was tragically murdered on September 3, 2006. Dr. Fenton was a man truly passionate about working with the most severe mentally ill population. He was a compassionate and tireless advocate for people with mental illness and the families so desperately trying to help them. He went above and beyond the call of duty and continued a private practice outside of his work at the National Institute of Mental Health. In his private practice, Dr. Fenton readily treated patients with the most severe mental illnesses, very often ones that other psychiatrists refused to see. These are the patients who are most likely to commit horrific crimes when they do not take necessary medication. Just last week, I participated in a panel discussion regarding whether the State of New Mexico should enact an assisted outpatient treatment, AOT, program that requires a court ordered treatment for those who are severely mentally ill. It is time we focus on this issue at a State and national level. Dr. Fenton's death should not be in vain; we cannot continue along a path that not only does not help the suffering, but continues to hurt the community. This is a challenging topic to take on and a hard discussion to have but we must start addressing the link between untreated mental illness and violence or we run the risk of seeing more horrific deaths. Outside of his work and private practice, Dr. Fenton worked with many groups including the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill, the American Psychiatric Association, and the World Psychiatric Association. He served as Deputy Editor of Schizophrenia Bulletin and as a consultant to the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. On numerous occasions he was nominated as one of the Best Doctors in America. He was a leader in the field of mental health research, particularly relating to the study of schizophrenia. Dr. Fenton authored many textbook chapters and more than fifty scientific papers on diagnosing, treatment, and mental health service methods for individuals who suffer from schizophrenia. His central goal was to create a treatment system to allow even those suffering from the most severe mental illness to become functioning members of society. Dr. Fenton's death truly is a great loss to the mental health community. In the words of Dr. Thomas Insel, Director of NIMH, ``It is difficult to grasp such a tragic, shocking loss; a loss not only for his many friends and family but for people with serious mental illness everywhere.'' As advocates for people with mental illness, and mental health policy, my wife Nancy and I had the pleasure to work with him over the years. I am extremely saddened by his tragic death. I want to extend my thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and coworkers at this time. It is my hope they remember the great impact he made during his time with us. I express my deepest sympathy to them. ____________________