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WHEREAS, Debra L. "Debbie" Caplan, a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, has devoted her career to improving public health as an administrator, hospital executive, and advocate for community development; and,
WHEREAS, Debbie began her career working in the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Office of Emergency Medical Services, where she was instrumental in shaping the state's comprehensive EMS, Burn Injury and Poison Control Systems. She went on to become Vice President of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where she helped establish the first heart transplantation program in New England; and,
WHEREAS, for the past twenty-seven years, Debbie has served in several senior leadership positions in the West Penn Allegheny Health System and Allegheny Health Network, most recently as the Senior Vice President of Allegheny General and West Penn Hospitals, where she has helped advance the system's clinical, academic, and community missions; and,
WHEREAS, as Senior Vice President, Debbie is responsible for overseeing the robust twenty-six-year partnership between Allegheny General Hospital and the communities of the Northside. This groundbreaking, formal partnership through the Northside Leadership Conference is focused on enhancing and promoting the vitality, quality of life, and image of the Northside through neighborhood reinvestment, improved housing, education, employment, and health and wellness initiatives. It is now one of the most comprehensive and longest-running official partnerships between a community and a major medical institution in the region; and,
WHEREAS, Debbie has been very active in the Pittsburgh community and serves on a number of boards, including the Northside Leadership Conference, the Northside/North Shore Chamber of Commerce, where she served as president, the Jewish Health Care Foundation, and the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board; and,
WHEREAS, Debbie has received numerous honors and awards for her work in Pittsburgh communities, including: Pittsburgh Public Schools - Start on Success Program Community Champions Award (2005 and 2008); the Fineview Citizens Council Community Service Award (2005); the YWCA Tribute to Women Leadership Award (2010); and the Northside Leadership Conference Neighborhood/Business Award (2010). In 2013, she was chosen by the Conference as one of the thirty faces of the Northside Community of Pittsburgh; and,
WHEREAS, most of all, Debbie is a loving mother of Dr. Jessica Levenson and Dr. Joshua Levenson, wife of Dr. David Levenson, and soon to be mother-in-law to Evan Durst, Esq.; and,
WHEREAS, this April, Debbie will retire after many years of outstanding work. She will be sorely missed; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize and honor "Debra L. Caplan" for her outstanding career in public health, and for serving as a valuable community partner to the communities of the Northside, and city as a whole; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare the month of April 2015 to be "Debra L. Caplan Month" in the City of Pittsburgh.