Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.),

the oldest sitting member of Congress and a powerful advocate on healthcare issues who helped steer the Affordable Care Act through passage, died last week. She was 88 years old. Slaughter fell last week at her Washington, D.C., home and was being treated for a concussion at George Washington University Hospital.

Slaughter was the first woman to chair the House Rules Committee. She also cochaired the Pro-Choice Caucus.

It took 14 years for Slaughter to pass legislation banning insurers and employers from using a person’s family medical history showing hereditary illness to hire or fire. The legislation, passed in 2008, was hailed by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) as “the first civil rights bill of the new century.”

A microbiologist, Slaughter also became known for her signature legislation aimed at protecting antibiotic effectiveness. Through her urging, then HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius developed a national plan to fight antibiotic resistance in 2011. Slaughter’s advocacy led McDonald’s and Costco to stop buying chicken raised with “critically important” antibiotics.