[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 29, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S7830]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RETIREMENT OF SISTER JANE FRANCIS BRADY

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to Sister 
Jane Francis Brady, who is retiring after 30 years at St. Joseph's 
Hospital and Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey. For 27 of those 
years, Sister Jane served as the hospital's President and Chief 
Executive Officer. This not only is a well-deserved public tribute, but 
also a very personal tribute. Paterson is my hometown, and St. Joseph's 
Hospital has been an institution both literally and figuratively for 
generations of Paterson families, including my own. To thousands of 
people in New Jersey and the region, she is ``Sister Jane'' and the 
hospital is ``St. Joe's.'' They are a union that has put quality and 
hope into so many lives.
  For many people in the Paterson area, Sister Jane has been the soul, 
the spirit and the face of healthcare. I have been privileged to work 
with her on a number of projects that have expanded St. Joe's to meet 
the continually growing needs of the surrounding community. Under 
Sister Jane's stewardship, St. Joseph's Hospital has become a focus of 
wellness care and training--the source for preventive, primary and 
emergency health services, and for more general education and 
counseling.
  Sister Jane's curriculum vitae is stellar. She has held the highest 
advisory positions on healthcare, serving as Vice-Chair of the New 
Jersey Commission on Legal and Ethical Problems in the Delivery of 
Health Care; on New Jersey's Health Care Administration Board; on the 
SEEDCO Board of Trustees of New York; on the Leadership Task Force on 
Health Policy Reform of the Catholic Health Association of the United 
States; and on the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Health Association 
of the U.S.
  She has been recognized for her contributions by numerous 
organizations, receiving, among others, the Paterson Community Service 
Award; the Citation of Merit from the NJ Association of Nonprofit Homes 
for the Aging; the Paterson Community Support Fund Humanitarian Award; 
``Woman of the Year'' awards from the American Legion, the Paterson 
Boys and Girls Club, the NJ State Organization of Cystic Fibrosis, the 
American Cancer Society, and Passaic County Community College; the 
Felician College Founders Day Award; the Paterson Historic Preservation 
Commission's Heritage Award; and the Palestinian Heritage Foundation 
Humanitarian Award.
  Sister Jane's retirement presents a huge challenge. We have the 
legacy of her intellect and passion; we have the solid foundation of 
her three decades of guidance; we have her enduring vision; but we will 
need an extraordinary talent to fill the void she leaves.
  The best tribute we can give, the tribute we owe to Sister Jane, is 
the promise and commitment to find the best way to give the best 
healthcare to the most people. That was what she did. That was her gift 
of faith and strength.

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