[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 157 (Thursday, December 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2498]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E2498]]
THE MILBANK MEMORIAL FUND CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF INFORMING POLICY FOR 
                   HEALTH CARE AND POPULATION HEALTH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 8, 2005

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I recognize the achievements of the 
Milbank Memorial Fund, on the occasion of its centennial celebration. 
The Milbank Memorial Fund is an outstanding organization which engages 
in nonpartisan analysis, study, research, and communication on 
significant issues in health policy, particularly for those people of 
greatest risk of disease and death. The Fund grew out of Elizabeth 
Milbank Anderson's philanthropic achievements during the Progressive 
Era, as she worked to prevent and remedy illnesses linked to poverty. 
Today, the Fund continues her legacy through an active approach to 
health care.
  Elizabeth Milbank Anderson was committed to disease prevention and 
public health, recognizing improper sanitary conditions as a major 
source of disease affecting the poor. She founded the Milbank Public 
Baths on East 38th Street in New York City in 1904. Anderson made gifts 
to the National Committee for Mental Hygiene, in Manhattan, and 
Manhattan's Home Hospital for tuberculosis patients. As a strong 
supporter of women's education, she was one of the first trustees of 
Barnard College. She provided the funds for the college's first 
building, Milbank Hall, and purchased for the college three city blocks 
that became the Milbank Quadrangle. Acting on the suggestion of her 
cousin, Anderson created the Milbank Memorial Fund, named for her 
parents.
  In accordance with Anderson's philosophy, the Fund recognizes that 
the public's health depends not only on conquering infectious diseases 
but also addressing the underlying causes and problems of these 
infections, such as housing, nutrition, health care, medical services 
and poverty. Accordingly, the Fund has been staunchly committed to 
evaluating and researching the causes of disease, focusing on 
prophylaxis and prevention in lieu of the more popular health care 
methods of treatment and suppression. After her death, additional 
bequests increased the fund's assets to about $10 million, or $110 
million in 2005 dollars.
  One of the Fund's earliest projects included creating models for 
agencies which would later become neighborhood health centers. Based on 
the premise that health must be conducted by the people not on the 
people, three local demonstration centers were erected. The last center 
to be established, the Bellevue-Yorkville center, on the East Side of 
Manhattan, for example, tested the effectiveness of organizing big-city 
public health services at the district level.
  Today, the Milbank Memorial Fund undertakes projects in policy 
development with decision makers in public, private and nonprofit 
sectors in the U.S. and around the world. Their projects have addressed 
issues such as the implications for policy of the Americans for 
Disabilities Act; the adequacy of retirement income for the baby boom 
generation; the salience of health for foreign policy; and rapidly 
growing evidence about the effectiveness of health care intervention. 
The Fund also conducts policy reviews on topics ranging from Households 
and Health Services to Opportunities in Prevention Policy.
  The Milbank Memorial Fund is also known for its philanthropic 
commitment. In total, the Fund has spent $465 million (in 2005 dollars) 
on charitable purposes. One example of the Fund's charitable work 
includes a Milbank Scholars Program, which provided five-year 
fellowships for epidemiology training and research to medical school 
junior clinical faculty, encouraging advancement of the work of young 
professionals in the field of community medicine.
  Although the health care problems our world faces today are daunting, 
and at times, may seem insurmountable, it is the work of organizations 
like the Milbank Memorial Fund which help us understand and then 
properly combat the health care dilemmas which confront us. That the 
Fund manages to carry out such critical research and education, is a 
testament to the legacy left by Anderson, and to the present leadership 
of Samuel Milbank and Daniel Fox.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to request that my colleagues join me in paying 
tribute to the outstanding contribution made by the Milbank Memorial 
Fund, during its 100 years. May it continue to serve the community for 
many years to come.

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