FOR RELEASE: January 31, 2011

CONTACT:  Stephanie Niedringhaus, 202-347-9797 x224, sniedringhaus@networklobby.org

Washington DC: On January 27, NETWORK’s Executive Director Simone Campbell, SSS, was honored at the “Health Action 2011” conference in Washington DC along with Catholic Health Association CEO Carol Keehan, DC, for their bold “contributions to the healthcare justice movement.”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, calling them “heroes,” saluted both on behalf of Members of Congress, saying “we hold them in very high esteem, as we always have” and that both Catholic Sisters “made a tremendous difference” in passage of the historic healthcare law.

In presenting the “Health Care Hero Award” to both, Ron Pollock, Executive Director of Families USA, called them “two people of conscience and profound spirituality.” Saying that “without their acts of conscience, the Affordable Care Act would probably never have been enacted into law,” he commended them as courageous women who “faithfully adhered to their moral compass and profound spirituality consistent with the sanctity of life.”

As she received her award, Sister Simone Campbell stated that we at NETWORK “do this work with a heart and commitment that we’re better when we work together” and that is it critically important for healthcare advocates everywhere to speak out together in support of the healthcare law. “We’ve got to be bold because the time is now” to hold up the current law and work for even greater healthcare access, she told the audience.

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