The American Hospital Association (AHA) is an organization that promotes the quality provision of health care by hospitals and health care networks through such efforts as promoting effective public policy and providing information related to health care and health administration to health care providers and the public. Founded in 1898 and hosting offices in Chicago, Illinois and Washington, D.C., the AHA hosts a Resource Center with more than 47,000 books on health care (some services fee based) and maintains an extensive, frequently updated Health Planning and Administration (HEALTH) database, which provides information related to health care unrelated to clinical treatment.^[3][4] More than 5,600 organizations and 41,000 individuals are members of the AHA.^[3]

History[link]

In 1870, there were only about a hundred general hospitals in the United States, but the institution was growing rapidly.^[5] Hospital administrators formed an organization called "The Association of Hospital Superintendents of the United States and Canada", which held its first meeting in 1899 in Cleveland, Ohio, in which city seven of the eight superintendents in attendance were based.^[5] The organization was promoted by publisher Del Sutton, whose journal The National Hospital Sanitarium Record was adopted by the new group in 1900, gradually coming under control of the organization until it was replaced by the organization's own publication, The Modern Hospital.^[6]

In 1906, the growing organization adopted its present name, with membership reaching 450 in 1908.^[7] Records of early annual meetings detail some of the conflicts in the emerging hospital culture of Canada and the United States concerning whether hospitals should be governed by physicians or administrators, with laypersons representing a heavy majority.^[8]

Personal membership groups[link]

Personal membership groups (PMGs) are affiliated societies which fall under the umbrella of the AHA:

• American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE)
• American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES)
• American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA)
• American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM)
• Association for Community Health Improvement (ACHI)
• Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE)^[9]
• Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM)
• Association for Healthcare Volunteer Resource Professionals (AHVRP)
• At Large AHA Membership for Healthcare Management/Consulting Professionals
• Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy (SHCA)
• Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD)^[10]

See also[link]

• The New York Foundation
• National Uniform Billing Committee

References[link]

External links[link]

• American Hospital Association homepage

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2009)

Charlie Dent
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 15th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Pat Toomey
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 16th district
In office January 5, 1999 – November 30, 2004
Preceded by	Roy Afflerbach
Succeeded by	Pat Browne
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 132nd district
In office January 1, 1991[1] – November 25, 1998
Preceded by	John Pressman
Succeeded by	Jennifer Mann
Personal details
Born	(1960-05-24) May 24, 1960 (age 52) Allentown, Pennsylvania
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Pamela Jane Serfass
Residence	Allentown, Pennsylvania
Alma mater	Penn State University (B.A.) Lehigh University (M.A.)
Occupation	Political assistant
Religion	Presbyterian
Website	Representative Charlie Dent

Charles "Charlie" Dent (born May 24, 1960) is the U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes all of Northampton County, most of Lehigh County, and small parts of Berks and Montgomery Counties.

Early life, education, and early career[link]

Dent was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He is a 1978 graduate of Allentown's William Allen High School. He received a Bachelor's in International Politics from Pennsylvania State University in 1982 and a Masters in Public Administration from Lehigh University in 1993. He is a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity.

He previously worked as a development officer for Lehigh University, an industrial electronics salesman, a hotel clerk, and an aide to U.S. Representative Donald L. Ritter.

Pennsylvania legislature[link]

Before being elected to the United States Congress, Dent was a member of the State Legislature for 14 years. He represented Pennsylvania's 132nd house district from 1991 to 1999 after unseating Democratic incumbent Jack Pressman in a heavily Democratic district in 1990. In 1998, Dent won an open 16th District Senate seat when Democrat Roy Afflerbach (who later served as Mayor of Allentown from 2002 to 2006) retired to take up an ultimately unsuccessful bid for Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

Elections[link]

Dent was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2004, succeeding Pat Toomey, who gave up his seat to challenge Arlen Specter for the U.S. Senate. He defeated Democrat Joe Driscoll 59%-39%.

2006

He won re-election 54%-44% against Charles Dertinger.

2008

He won re-election 59%-41% against Allentown Democratic Party Chairman Sam Bennett.

2010

Dent won a re-election against Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan with 54% of the vote,^[2] the smallest percent of the vote he received in his four elections.^[3]

Tenure[link]

Rep. Charles Dent, R-PA, introduces legislation (HR 1254) to ban the ingredients found in synthetic marijuana Dec. 7, 2011, on the House floor. The House passed the legislation Dec. 8, 2011. Video:C-SPAN

Dent is a proponent of hydrogen fuel and is one of the four founding members of the House Hydrogen Fuel Cell Caucus. In 2006 he proposed legislation aimed at promoting the rollout of commercial hydrogen fueling stations. Dent envisions the development of a "Hydrogen Highway East," similar to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans for a Hydrogen Highway on the West Coast.

Dent is a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership. In 2007 he was elected to co-chair the Republican "Tuesday Group," a centrist organization of Congressional Republicans.

As a Republican representing a district with Democratic leanings, he sometimes crosses party lines on legislation. In December 2010, Dent was one of fifteen Republican House members to vote in favor of repealing the United States military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on openly gay service members.^[4][5]

Dent is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act^[6]

He voted against Federal intervention in the Terri Schiavo case. Dent replied afterwards that he opposed government intervention in a personal matter and would have voted the same way had courts sided with Schiavo's parents.

In April 2010, Dent introduced a resolution urging the U.S. State Department to issue a Certificate of Loss of Nationality to Anwar al-Awlaki. He said al-Awlaki "preaches a culture of hate" and had been a functioning member of al-Qaeda "since before 9/11", and had effectively renounced his citizenship by engaging in treasonous acts.^[7]

In April 2011, Dent voted in favor of a 2012 budget proposal authored by Paul Ryan entitled The Path to Prosperity, which included several controversial changes to both health care and tax policy. Dent said of the bill that, "It's a serious, sober document...There are some things in there that I think are interesting."^[8]

In January 2012, en co-sponsored the Enemy Expatriation Act with Senator Joe Lieberman. The proposal would allow the United States government to strip U.S. citizens of their citizenship without requiring that the citizen have been convicted of a crime.^[9]

At the start of the 112th Congress, Dent received a new position on the coveted House Appropriations Committee, and continues to serve on the House Ethics Committee.

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
• Committee on Ethics

Caucus memberships[link]

• Congressional Arts Caucus

Electoral history[link]

Personal life[link]

Dent is married to Pamela Dent and has three children.

References[link]

External links[link]

Media related to Charlie Dent at Wikimedia Commons

• Charlie Dent, United States Congressman official U.S. House site
• Charlie Dent for U.S. Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Charlie Dent at the Notable Names Database

Joe Parker is a South African stand-up comedian and promoter (entertainment).

Joe Parker is responsible for the long running comedy show Joe Parker's Comedy Express, as well as the Improv Express devoted to improvisational theatre.^[1]

In 2008, Joe Parker opened Parker's Comedy and Jive, a dedicated venue for stand-up comedy in Johannesburg, South Africa^[2][3]

See also[link]

• List of stand-up comedians

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joe Parker

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Joe Parker

• Parker's Comedy and Jive Website
• Parker Leisure promoter website
• Joe Parker's Comedy Express
• Joe Parker at the Internet Movie Database

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