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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF ELIZABETH ``BETSY'' GILBERTSON
______
HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO
of connecticut
in the house of representatives
Thursday, June 18, 2020
Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it is with the heaviest of hearts that I
rise today to pay tribute to Elizabeth ``Betsy'' Gilbertson, a dear
friend who we lost much too soon. Though she waged a fierce battle,
Betsy recently lost her fight with ovarian cancer.
Betsy dedicated her professional life and much of her personal time
to ensuring that everyone has access to affordable, quality health
care. From the earliest days of her career, Betsy combined her passion
for advocacy with that of her belief that quality, affordable
healthcare was a right, not a privilege. As a member of the Connecticut
Nurses Association and District 1199, New England SEIU, Betsy
represented her fellow nurses in collective bargaining. She also led a
non-profit women's health center before joining UNITE HERE HEALTH, a
Taft-Hartley labor management trust fund that provides health benefits
that offer high quality, affordable health care to their participants,
where she held a number of leadership roles prior to her last position
as Chief of Strategy.
Betsy's dedication to quality, affordable healthcare extended far
beyond her professional career. She served on National Quality Forum
Task Forces on patient safety and ambulatory care measures; was founder
as well as Chair/Co-Chair of the Health Services Coalition, a labor
management organization that contracts with hospitals and advocates for
public policies that improve quality health care, affordability, and
access in Nevada; and was a Board member of the National Committee for
Quality Assurance for five years. In more recent years, she continued
her good work serving on the Lown Institute Advisory Council and the
federal Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee.
For me, Betsy was not only been an invaluable resource on healthcare
issues, but a cherished friend. It is a friendship that dates back to a
time before our lives took us to Washington, D.C. Betsy and her
husband, John, lived in my childhood neighborhood of Wooster Square in
New Haven, Connecticut for many years--John and my husband, Stan,
teaching together at Yale University long before we met. Betsy and I
were kindred spirits and I will be forever grateful to have had her
friendship all these years.
I am heartbroken at Betsy's loss and extend my deepest sympathies to
her husband, John Wilhelm, as well as their children Tom and Vinnie;
and their three grandchildren. I, like so many of those who had the
opportunity to know her, consider myself fortunate to have called her
my friend and will continue to be inspired by her memory. Betsy was an
extraordinary woman who passion and dedication touched countless
lives--this world is just a bit dimmer without her in it.
____________________