Senator Daniel K. Inouye to Accept Distinguished Service Award at Beaux Arts Ball

National Jewish Health will honor U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, of Hawaii, with the Arthur B. Lorber Award for Distinguished Service at the Beaux Arts Ball “Salutes the Stars and Stripes” on March 10 at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver. The Arthur B. Lorber Award for Distinguished Service is highest honor at National Jewish Health.

Sen. Inouye, a World War II combat veteran with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and a Medal of Honor recipient, will accept the award for his dedication to his country and strong support of National Jewish Health for more than 40 years.

Sen. Inouye is serving his ninth consecutive term and is the most senior member of the U.S. Senate and its President Pro-Tempore. He is known for his distinguished record as a respected legislative leader who is able to work in a bipartisan fashion to enact meaningful legislation. As Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Sen. Inouye has been able to focus on defense matters that strengthen national security and enhance the quality of life for military personnel and their families. This reflects his hope for a more secure world, and his desire to provide the best possible assistance to the men and women who put their lives at risk to protect the United States.

Sen. Inouye is also the Ranking Democrat on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the Indian Affairs Committee, and serves on the Rules Committee. He helped establish the Inter-parliamentary Exchange Program between the U.S. Senate and Japan’s legislature, and in 2000, the Government of Japan presented him with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.

On June 18, 2011, the Government of Japan made Sen. Inouye the seventh American and the first of Japanese descent to receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers, the highest award in the order of the Rising Sun.

“We are honored to thank Sen. Inouye for his steadfast dedication to this country and to National Jewish Health,” said Michael Salem, MD, President and CEO of National Jewish Health. “Sen. Inouye has long been a champion for National Jewish Health within the U.S. Senate by supporting medical research and excellence in patient care.”

Recipients of the Arthur B. Lorber Award for Distinguished Service show leadership in an area that has impacted the reputation, service, science or mission of National Jewish Health. Arthur Lorber was the son of Fannie Lorber, who in 1907 founded the Denver Sheltering Home as an orphanage for Jewish children. As “The Home” evolved from an orphanage into an asthma treatment center, Arthur was the visionary who combined compassionate care with ground-breaking research and thus created the premier treatment center for respiratory diseases in the country.

The Beaux Arts Ball is one of the most anticipated social galas in Denver, raising over $2 million each year to support National Jewish Health. The 2012 Beaux Arts Ball will be hosted by Colleen and Javier Baz, Sharon and Lanny Martin, and Sheila and Hassan Salem. To attend the 2012 Beaux Arts Ball or for more information, contact Laura Gillespie Lhevine at gillespielhevinel@njhealth.org or call 303.728.6546.

National Jewish Health is known worldwide for treatment of patients with respiratory, cardiac, immune and related disorders, and for groundbreaking medical research. Founded in 1899 as a nonprofit hospital, National Jewish Health remains the only facility in the world dedicated exclusively to these disorders. Since 1998, U.S. News & World Report has ranked National Jewish Health the #1 respiratory hospital in the nation.