[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 94 (Thursday, June 27, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E984-E985]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING KATRINA CLARK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE FAIR HAVEN COMMUNITY 
            HEALTH CENTER ON THE OCCASION OF HER RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 27, 2013

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to 
join the many family, friends, colleagues, and community members who 
have gathered in celebration of Katrina Clark who is retiring from her 
position as Executive Director of the Fair Haven Community Health 
Center after forty years of dedicated service.
  Katrina has been at the helm of this organization for all but its 
first two years. It has been under her leadership and because of her 
vision that the Center has grown so successfully over the last four 
decades. I have had the privilege to know Katrina for many years. Her 
commitment to the people of the Fair Haven community is only equaled by 
her determination to ensure that they have access to quality, 
affordable health care. She is an extraordinary woman and I consider 
myself fortunate to benefit from her counsel and friendship.
  In 1971 a small group of dedicated nurses, doctors, students, and 
neighborhood volunteers, under the leadership of a community advocacy 
agency called the Alliance for Latin American Progress, opened the Fair 
Haven Clinic in a local elementary school. Two nights a week, the 
Clinic served adults and children on a walk-in basis for minor 
ailments, immunizations, and family planning services. With a budget of 
only five thousand dollars, made available through a grant from the 
Greater New Haven Community Foundation, they were able to accommodate 
over five hundred visits in their first year.

[[Page E985]]

  It was clear that families were not only in need of these basic 
services, but of expanded health care as well. Over the next decade, 
guided by Katrina's remarkable leadership, the Clinic worked to expand 
the services that they were able to provide to more comprehensive 
primary health care. Today, the Fair Haven Community Health Center has 
grown into one of our community's most respected non-profit primary 
health care organizations, providing comprehensive health care--from 
prenatal and pediatric to adolescent, adult and geriatric care--to 
hundreds of residents every year.
  Katrina's passion for and dedication to providing children and 
families with access to quality, affordable health care has helped to 
guide the Fair Haven Community Health Center over the course of its 
history. Its success and the difference it continues to make in the 
lives of those it serves is her legacy. She has left an indelible mark 
on our community, setting a standard of service to which we should all 
strive. While her physical presence will most certainly be missed, I 
have no doubt that she will continue to serve as an inspiration to all 
of those at Fair Haven Community Health Center as they continue her 
good work.
  For her outstanding service to our community and unparalleled 
dedication to some of our most vulnerable citizens, I am honored to 
stand today to extend my deepest thanks and appreciation to Katrina 
Clark as she celebrates her retirement. I wish her, her partner Bonnie, 
and their children, Jared and Jonathan all the best for many more years 
of health and happiness.

                          ____________________