[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 21589-21590]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE TO MR. IRA CLARK: A DEDICATED PUBLIC SERVANT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 9, 2003

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to one of our 
community's most remarkable public servants, Mr. Ira Clark, former 
President of our County Public Health Trust and Chief Executive Officer 
of Miami-Jackson Health System. His friends and supporters will honor 
him this Friday, September 12, 2003 at a special benefit dinner at the 
Hotel Intercontinental in Miami.
  This event will recognize Mr. Clark for 16 years of exceptional 
service to the residents of our community, particularly the countless 
indigents and immigrants. Having dedicated the longevity of his 
stewardship over our county Jackson Memorial Hospital, he has been 
relentless in his development of innovative healthcare service programs 
that now respond to the crying needs of our community. His was indeed a 
mission of genuine love and utmost commitment that maximized thorough 
understanding and common-sense compassion for many destitute families 
who lack the basic financial wherewithal to have a loved one access 
quality medical care and treatment in a modern urban hospital setting.
  Under his leadership many lives have been saved and many more 
families have been rendered whole because of his dedication to 
providing accessibility to affordable quality healthcare services. One 
of the most impressive achievements under his watch was the acquisition 
of a predictable source of recurrent funding when the residents of 
Miami-Dade County voted in 1991 to have an extra half-penny sales tax 
to fund Jackson Memorial Hospital. An essential component of this 
securely funded system was his ability to create a partnership with the 
University of Miami School of Medicine, which now provides the 
expertise of this medical center to spread worldwide in specialties 
like trauma care, organ transplant, spinal cord injury, pediatrics, 
high-risk obstetrics and a host of quality healthcare innovations.
  Other highlights of his tenure contributed to the decompression of 
the county hospital facility through the creation of the Jackson North 
Maternity Center, the Taylor Breast Health Center, the Diagnostic 
Treatment Center, the state of the art Ryder Trauma Center and the 
recent opening of Jackson South Community Hospital to benefit the 
residents living in the South Dade area. The event this Friday will 
raise funds to help build a state-of-the-art Rehabilitation Facility at 
this premiere hospital.
  These facilities are eloquent testimonies to Mr. Clark's mission to 
provide a single high standard of medical care to all people. This 
sterling commitment has raised the bar of quality healthcare for the 
vibrant community of Miami-Dade County, which uniquely symbolizes a 
virtual mosaic of immigrants representing virtually every country of 
the world.
  It is his vision that spearheaded the introduction of the Jackson 
Health System corporate identity in the Spring of 2000, which led to 
the creation of a network of some 12 primary care centers across the 
county. The role he played in developing.our excellent health-care 
system evokes a unique passion that led to our community's ability to 
receive the recognition of its strength amidst its diversity, and help 
the less fortunate In their quest for quality medical care and 
treatment.
  Indeed, it is an honor to have the privilege of the friendship of Mr. 
Ira Clark, a caring public servant par excellence. The tribute he will 
receive on Friday is genuinely deserved. I salute him on behalf of a 
grateful community that he truly loved and cared for so deeply.

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