[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5021]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO DR. RAFAEL A. LANTIGUA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 28, 2007

  Mr. SERRANO. Madam Speaker, I am honored to rise in recognition of a 
giant in the Dominican community of New York--and, I am proud to say--a 
close personal friend of many years, Dr. Rafael A. Lantigua. Both 
admired for the brilliance he has demonstrated as a medical 
professional, and deeply respected for his lasting dedication to 
empowering minority communities, Dr. Lantigua's career exemplifies the 
manner in which members of the Dominican community are strengthening 
the social fabric of our Nation.
  Dr. Lantigua emigrated to the U.S. in 1972, upon graduation from the 
Medical School of Santo Domingo's Universidad Autonoma. Arriving in New 
York, Dr. Lantigua trained in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology from 
1973 to 1979, first at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx--where he was 
named Chief Medical Resident in 1976--and later, at the School of 
Medicine at the University of Rochester. Returning to New York City in 
1980, Dr. Lantigua accepted appointments as Assistant Professor of 
Clinical Medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia 
University, as well as Assistant Attending Physician at Columbia-
Presbyterian Hospital.
  In 1993, Dr. Lantigua became Director of the General Medicine 
Outpatient Services division of New York Presbyterian Hospital; and in 
1994, he rose to the rank of Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia 
University's College of Physicians and Surgeons--appointments Dr. 
Lantigua has retained to this day. In all, Dr. Lantigua has held nearly 
three dozen academic, hospital and committee appointments since 1975, 
and has been the recipient of well over a dozen honors from medical 
institutions, universities, community organizations and elected 
officials both here in the United States as well as in the Dominican 
Republic.
  Frequently invited to speak on health topics affecting minority 
communities, and able to claim both publication and research resumes 
that are quite extensive, Dr. Lantigua has struck a remarkable balance 
between his professional and civic life--this perhaps best evidenced by 
the numerous board memberships he has maintained over the years. Dr. 
Lantigua is cofounder and board chair of Alianza Dominicana, Inc., as 
well as board chair of the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant 
Rights. In addition, he has served on the boards of such organizations 
as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund, the Latino Commission on AIDS, 
the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Institute for the Elderly, the National 
Hispanic Leadership Agenda, and The Dorothy Blumberg Community Fund--
just to name a few.
  Madam Speaker, I stand before you in recognition of a coalition 
builder in our community; a man whom I have known and held in high 
regard for over three decades. In asking that my colleagues join me in 
paying tribute to a true humanitarian in Dr. Rafael A. Lantigua, I do 
so not only on behalf of myself, but also on behalf of countless 
Latinos both in New York and in the Dominican Republic--women, men, and 
children whose lives Dr. Lantigua has in some way touched--and who look 
upon his career as a shining illustration of the myriad ways that 
Dominicans have enriched us all and become integral to American 
society.

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