[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 26, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E778-E779]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING VIRGINIA BELL

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ANDY BARR

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 26, 2022

  Mr. BARR. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor an incredible woman, 
Virginia Bell. Mrs. Bell lives in Lexington, Kentucky and turned 100 
years old on June 30, 2022.
  Mrs. Bell was born and raised on a farm outside of Cynthiana, KY. She 
attended Transylvania University, graduating in 1944 with degrees in 
mathematics and biology. After raising five children with her husband 
Wayne, she went back to school and earned a master's degree in social 
work in 1982 at the age of 60. She became the first family counselor at 
the University of Kentucky's Sanders Brown Center on Aging. Mrs. Bell 
developed the revolutionary Best Friends Approach for the care of 
people with Alzheimer's and other dementias. She created the Best 
Friends Adult Day Program, one of the first dementia specific adult day 
care centers in the country. Her ideas have been replicated world-wide.
  Mrs. Bell is internationally known in the field of dementia care, 
having lectured in over 30 countries.
  She has co-authored 5 books and been widely published in professional 
journals. She was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from 
Transylvania University in 1992. The National Council on Aging 
presented her with the prestigious Ruth Von Behren Award in 1994. She 
was the first inductee in the University of Kentucky College of Social 
Work Hall of Fame in 2004.
  Mrs. Bell is a true pioneer. Her work leaves a lasting legacy and her 
advocacy for people with dementia has impacted countless lives. It is 
my honor to lift up the accomplishments of

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this remarkable woman and to honor her 100th birthday before the House 
of Representatives.

                          ____________________