[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 170 (Monday, December 10, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       IN HONOR OF RITA J. KAPLAN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 10, 2001

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay special 
tribute to Rita J. Kaplan, who is the driving force behind the new 
mammography clinic at Bellevue Hospital in New York City.
  Ms. Kaplan is an inspiration to us all. She is a known fighter and 
victor for important causes. She fights for what she believes in and 
never loses her sense of compassion for others.
  Ms. Kaplan realized the need for a new clinic at Bellevue Hospital 
when a family member was diagnosed with breast cancer. Ms. Kaplan's 
four grandparents, who arrived in the early 1890's, had a history of 
receiving extraordinary and caring treatment at Bellevue, and she 
wanted to make sure that today's Bellevue patients continue to receive 
first class care. Recognizing that Bellevue's mammography clinic needed 
refurbishment and new equipment, Ms. Kaplan devoted her considerable 
energies and resources to making Bellevue's facility the finest 
available. In her honor, Bellevue is naming the new center, the Rita J. 
Kaplan Breast Imaging Center.
  As a child, Ms. Kaplan wanted to be a doctor, but while in college at 
the University of Wisconsin, she turned to a career in social work. She 
continued on with her education, receiving a master's degree in social 
work form Columbia University. She was trained as a clinical social 
worker and received advance training at the Ackerman Institute, in 
family therapy.
  In the early 1980s, she and her husband, Stanley H. Kaplan, donated a 
fund to found the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Comprehensive Cancer 
Center. They also donated $2 million to help establish a new home for 
the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, which was named in 
their honor.
  Ms. Kaplan, a life-long crusader and political activist, is a member 
of the Board and Executive Committee of the Jewish Board of Family and 
Children's Services; Chairperson of the Management Committee of Jewish 
Connections, Divisional Committee of JBFCS; Member of the Management 
Committee at Kaplan House; and a Member of the Board of Sutton Place 
Synagogue where she sits on the Rabbi's Committee. She also sits on 
various UJA-Federation committees.
  Ms. Kaplan served on boards of the Hemlock Farms Community 
Association in the Poconos; the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra; the 
Madeline Borg Community Services Divisional Committee; and the Board of 
the Solomon Schecter High School of New York.
  Mr. Speaker, I salute the work of Rita J. Kaplan, and I ask my fellow 
Members of Congress to join me in recognizing her contributions to the 
New York community and to our country. Thank you.

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