[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 24, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      TRIBUTE TO MR. IRA C. CLARK

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 24, 2009

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the late 
Mr. Ira C. Clark, a beloved community leader, public servant and 
champion of health care in my district, who recently passed away after 
a long and arduous battle with Alzheimer's disease.
  Mr. Clark, a native of New Jersey raised by his mother a teacher and 
his father a taxi cab driver, served as the president and CEO of Public 
Health/Jackson Memorial Hospital for 15 years. As Jackson Memorial 
Hospital's first black president and as a result of his extraordinary 
accomplishments, he became one of the most powerful minority executives 
in South Florida.
  Having dedicated his tenure at Jackson Memorial Hospital to the 
development of innovative healthcare programs, Mr. Clark constantly 
strove to provide accessibility to the highest quality medical care for 
the disenfranchised and destitute families of South Florida.
  Mr. Clark's efforts led to the introduction of The Jackson Health 
System, which provides a corporate identity for the official framework 
governing a system now composed of 12 primary care centers, two medical 
long-term facilities, four school based clinics, a maternity hospital, 
and a community hospital all dedicated to providing exceptional 
standards of medical care. Moreover, Mr. Clark spearheaded the creation 
of the Ryder Trauma Center, as well as the Taylor Breast Health Center 
and the Diagnostic Treatment Center.
  Among Mr. Clark's remarkable achievements, his greatest was securing 
a half-penny sales tax approved by Miami-Dade County residents to raise 
funds for Jackson Memorial Hospital. In his 1991 Miami Herald op-ed 
piece, Mr. Clark stated, ``Jackson Memorial Hospital is starving. It 
desperately needs resources in its battle against children's diseases, 
trauma, AIDS, and the health problems of Dade County's neediest people. 
Jackson needs a dependable, non political source of funding. The half-
penny sales tax is a step in the right direction.'' Mr. Clark's 
dedication to the betterment of Florida's Medicaid system and quality 
services to both rich and poor, AIDS patients and trauma victims 
remained strong throughout the tenure of his professional career.
  Following his retirement, Mr. Clark offered a self-assessment to the 
Miami Times: ``There's no question that Jackson Memorial Hospital today 
has come a long way under my leadership. I arrived in 1987 focused on 
issues related to funding and overcrowding. I sought out to secure a 
steady source funding to fix the hospital's financial problems and 
decompress the main hospital. I brought with me an unquestionable 
passion and commitment to single high standard of care that has 
remained the trademark of my leadership.''
  Madam Speaker, I ask you and all the members of this esteemed 
legislative body to join me in recognizing the extraordinary life and 
accomplishments of Mr. Ira C. Clark. I commend him for his service to 
the South Florida community and the healthcare system, and I appreciate 
this opportunity to pay tribute to him before the United States House 
of Representatives.

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