Connie A. Raffa, beloved wife of Raymond T. Schmidt and a pre-eminent health care lawyer in New York, died July 7, 2016 following a battle with cancer. She was 67.

Connie spent nearly four decades practicing law, first in the NY Office of Prosecution for Special Narcotics under Hon. Sterling Johnson, Jr. from 1973 to 1976, as New York County Assistant District Attorney from 1978 to 1980 under Robert Morgenthau, and a United States government lawyer. A dedicated public servant, Connie worked for the US Department of Health and Human Services for 15 years as a senior trial attorney and assistant regional counsel in the agency’s Office of General Counsel. She represented HHS before federal district and appeals courts and in administrative hearings. As a prosecutor, Connie was appointed special assistant US attorney in the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Districts of New York and the District of Puerto Rico.

She joined Arent Fox LLP in 1995 and founded its New York Health Care group, advising home health agencies, hospices, physician groups, state health associations, and palliative care programs on regulatory and reimbursement issues, fraud and abuse investigations, and sanctions. An advocate and leader for the palliative care and hospice communities, Connie worked tirelessly to raise money for those organizations, while providing vital pro bono legal advice. Connie received many awards, including a Certificate of Achievement from the United States Congress, served on the Board of Trustees and the Governance, Managed Care, and Palliative Care Committees of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York for which she also was Counsel, and on the Regulatory and Public Policy Committees of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Connie loved to study clowning and performed for nonprofits to help raise money. Connie was also a former member of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Chorus. Fluent in Sicilian, she enjoyed hiking, biking, visiting national parks and lighthouses, bird watching, photography, and scrabble. Forever a Beatles fan, Connie kept Paul McCartney’s autograph from a brief meeting in the lobby of the Plaza Hotel and attended the band’s iconic concert at Shea Stadium.

Connie’s parents, Anna and Dominick Raffa, raised three children, Connie, Lucretia and Anthony in Dyker Heights Brooklyn. She is survived by her husband, Raymond, her beloved brother Anthony, his wife Martine, their daughter Emilie, her husband Johan and their children Dillon and Jake. She will be deeply missed and cherished by all whose lives she touched.
Services will be held at:
Westchester Funeral Home, Inc.
190 Main St
Eastchester, NY 10709
914-337-4585
http://www.westchesterfuneralhome.com/

Visiting hours will be from 2 - 4 and 7 - 9 pm on Saturday July 9 and Sunday July 10. Funeral Mass to be held on Monday - July 11, 2016 9:30 am at:

Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Our Lady Church
53 Winter Hill Rd
Tuckahoe, NY 10707
http://www.assumption-immaculate.org/

Interment to follow at Woodlawn Cemetery - Bronx, NY

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Connie’s memory to the American Cancer Society or Hospice Care Network.