[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12828]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO SISTER MARY NORBERTA MALINOWSKI

 Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, in 1855 in Warsaw, Poland, Blessed 
Angela founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Felix, an order 
dedicated to serving the poor, the sick, and the disabled. Today, 
thousands of Felician Sisters carry on a tradition of compassionate 
service around the world.
  Today I wish to pay tribute to one of their number, a remarkable 
woman in Bangor, ME, the city where I live. Her name is Sister Mary 
Norberta Malinowski, but she is known and loved throughout Maine simply 
as Sister Norberta. She has dedicated her life to serving God by 
serving those in need.
  Sister Norberta became a registered nurse in 1956 and began her 
career as one of the first pediatric nurse practitioners at 
Massachusetts General Hospital. After earning advanced degrees in 
public health and management, she received faculty appointments at 
Harvard Medical School and the Boston College Graduate School of 
Nursing.
  In 1982, Sister Norberta became president and chief executive officer 
of St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor. As she prepares to step down after 29 
years of service, her accomplishments are being celebrated by the Maine 
Legislature, the city of Bangor, the Honor Society of Nursing, the 
Maine chapter of Business and Professional Women, and many others.
  There is much to celebrate. Under Sister Norberta's courageous and 
visionary leadership, St. Joseph has been transformed into the largest 
community hospital in Maine. She was instrumental in bringing many 
firsts to the region and to the State, from digital mammography and 
laparoscopic surgery to allowing fathers in the delivery room.
  The Felician Sisters were founded with a particular focus on serving 
the Polish countryside. Sister Norberta continues that tradition by 
leading the effort to ensure primary care services for rural Maine and 
to organize small community hospitals under the Maine Health Alliance 
to create a statewide network of care.
  Sister Norberta's contributions as a health care executive are only 
part of her inspiring story. She has given thousands of hours of her 
personal time to charity and has applied St. Joseph's facilities to 
such needs as providing laundry and food services to the area's 
homeless shelters. Countless other quiet acts of kindness testify to 
her caring heart and deep humility.
  The 16th century Capuchin friar canonized as St. Felix was known in 
his time as ``the saint of the streets of Rome'' for his daily journeys 
through the city dispensing food, medicine, and comfort to the poor, 
the sick, and the troubled. Sister Norberta has lived that legacy 
through the streets of Bangor and the country roads of Maine, and I 
join in thanking her for her blessed service.

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