[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 154 (Tuesday, November 30, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2012]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN HONOR OF THE HEALTHCARE CHAPLAINCY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 30, 2010

  Mrs. MALONEY. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay special tribute to the 
HealthCare Chaplaincy, a nonprofit multi-faith healthcare organization 
that is devoted to serving the spiritual needs of patients seeking 
palliative care and their families. This month, the Chaplaincy hosts 
its annual ``Wholeness of Life'' Awards Dinner in Manhattan.
  Founded in 1961 by a syndicate of churches, the HealthCare Chaplaincy 
has served nearly 5 million people, relieving medical suffering and 
improving the quality of life of countless grateful clients and their 
families. Over the course of those five decades, the HealthCare 
Chaplaincy has sought tirelessly to expand palliative care by improving 
its accessibility, affordability, and quality, and by training 
qualified chaplains for hospital ministry. As the largest clinical 
pastoral education and research center of its kind in the United 
States, the HealthCare Chaplaincy has become an integral part of the 
medical community, caring for both residential and non-residential 
patients with serious progressive illnesses and helping to reduce the 
severity of disease symptoms.
  The HealthCare Chaplaincy is hosting its 23rd Wholeness of Life 
Awards Dinner this month to celebrate its 50th Anniversary. I also wish 
to congratulate this year's most worthy honorees: the Chairmen of the 
Board of Trustees, as well as doctors and nurses who excelled at 
patient care in the palliative medical field.
  The HealthCare Chaplaincy's remarkable achievements would not be 
possible without its President and Chief Executive Officer, the 
Reverend Dr. Walter J. Smith, and Executive Vice President and Chief 
Operating Officer, Claire Haaga-Altman. A specialist in end-of life 
palliative care, the Rev. Dr. Walter Smith has served at the HealthCare 
Chaplaincy for nearly two decades. Ms. Haaga-Altman has served in the 
non-profit sector for more than 30 years, helping to develop New York 
City's Access-a-Ride program and fostering and facilitating the growth 
of the multi-faith palliative medical field. At the Chaplaincy, she is 
overseeing an innovative and critically needed assisted living program.
  Madam Speaker, I salute the work of HealthCare Chaplaincy and I ask 
that my distinguished colleagues join me in recognizing the outstanding 
work of the HealthCare Chaplaincy and its 2010 honorees for their many 
contributions to the civic and spiritual life of our Nation.

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