Catholic Health World - September 15, 2023

Warm welcome for Ukrainian visitor 2

Executive changes 6 New hospital decor as homage 8

SEPTEMBER

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS BUILD TRUST, AWARENESS

Murder of hospital employee spurs creation of domestic violence toolkit

By VALERIE SCHREMP HAHN

Edna “Patty” Hernandez was always smiling and cheerful as she floated throughout different departments cleaning rooms and hallways at the 700-bed Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington.

“She was very, very beloved to the point that a manager told me that he would get requests from units: ‘Can’t Patty just stay with us?’” said Susan Stacey, chief executive for the Providence Inland Northwest Washington service area, part of Providence St. Joseph Health.

On the morning of April 3, 2019, Hernandez didn’t show up for work, unusual for her since she always came in early eating her breakfast, usually a

Continued

Greenville’s Bon Secours works with pastors to bring health campaigns to Black churches

By JULIE MINDA

Last year, Roy Williams joined one of the residents of the shelter he heads in Greenville, South Carolina, for a discussion on Black men’s risk of getting colorectal cancer. Throughout the talk, as the clinician presenter listed symptoms of the illness, the man repeatedly leaned over to Williams to say he had those symptoms.

After the presentation, which was at a church, the man took one of the colorectal cancer screening kits offered free to attend-

ees. He completed the kit, submitted it and later was relieved to receive a negative result, Williams recalled.

Williams noted that although the man largely had avoided health care providers previously, he went to this talk because it was in a place he felt comfortable and with people he trusted, including Williams. The man found that the people there “respected him and showed him they cared for him and that he mattered. They gave him the opportunity to

Colossal lifesaving effort began with 60 minutes of CPR

By LISA EISENHAUER

After she was awakened by her husband’s screams and found him in distress in the living room of their suburban Houston home early Jan. 2, Patricia Green let the emergency responders decide where to take him for treatment.

The ambulance crew determined Clifford Green was having a heart attack and rushed him to St. Luke’s Health — The Woodlands, about 25 minutes away. While in the hospital’s cardiology lab being evaluated, Clifford went into cardiac arrest, prompting the cardiology team and emergency responders to start CPR. They kept at it for what cardiac surgeon Dr. Vivek Patel calls an “unheard of” 60 minutes.

The long resuscitation was the start of

2023 VOLUME

By NANCY FOWLER

Hospitals in Missouri, including those within the Mercy and SSM Health systems, are struggling to care for an influx of unusual patients: those who don’t need to be hospitalized.

Dozens of foster children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are languishing in psychiatric units, medical wards and emergency departments because they have nowhere else to go.

What was once an occasional issue escalated during the pandemic as employees of state-run facilities serving these populations left their jobs. As a result, the number of appropriate living options dwindled. Now, in a typical scenario, a teenager or adult with behavioral issues will show up at an emergency department, and once they’re stabilized, ED staff can’t find an appropriate placement for them.

By JULIE MINDA

Morrow PERIODICAL RATE PUBLICATION

CHA has released a new guide to help people understand, interpret and apply the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. The association also has produced a video that Catholic health care facilities can use to introduce new staff members and others to the directives and their use.

Published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Ethical and Religious Directives document the ethical standards of behavior for providing health care services — standards derived from the Catholic Church’s teaching about the dignity of each person. The directives also provide authoritative guidance on certain moral issues that can arise in health care delivery. The purpose of the guide, called “The Ethical and Religious Directives: Annotations by the Catholic Health

CHA provides guide to aid in interpretation, application of Ethical and Religious Directives

Edna "Patty" Hernandez, a Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center employee, was killed by her boyfriend in April 2019.

‘Absolutely an emergency’

Foster children, adults with disabilities living in Missouri hospitals

Pastor Sean Dogan, at the microphone, speaks at a men’s forum on colorectal and prostate health at the Long Branch Community Center in Greenville, South Carolina. The event was the result of collaboration among pastors involved with Bon Secours St. Francis Health System’s clergy council. Dogan directs community health at Bon Secours St. Francis. Behind him are, from left, Greenville-area pastors Matthew Long, Richard Donald and Herb Edwards.

>> SSM Health partners with Urban League for training program. PAGE 3

Clifford Green, seated between his daughter, Hannah Green, left, and his wife, Patricia Green, listens during a reunion event at St. Luke’s Health — The Woodlands for the dozens of emergency workers, clinicians and others who helped him survive after a heart attack and many complications.

Covenant Health forges friendship with doctor from Ukraine

tors worldwide.

“I think there is a camaraderie,” Madden says. “I think after the crisis that the pandemic was around the world, there’s even more camaraderie.”

By VALERIE SCHREMP HAHN

Since Nancy Mulvihill retired nearly 10 years ago as vice president of corporate communications for Covenant Health, she’s co-hosted a radio show with her husband and volunteered for hospice and, most recently, as a language tutor at the Adult Learning Center in Nashua, New Hampshire.

She hoped to get paired as a tutor with someone from Ukraine “because I wondered what I could do for Ukraine, and thought maybe, and it worked out,” she says. “I think it was heaven-sent. It must be.”

Mulvihill was paired with Dr. Halyna Homziak, a family physician from Sambir, Ukraine, who came to the United States in May to learn more English. While staying with a Ukrainian immigrant family in nearby Hollis, New Hampshire, she met for weekly sessions with Mulvihill.

Mulvihill was thrilled to learn Homziak was a doctor and put her connections with Covenant Health to good use. She arranged for a tour in mid-August of St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua. The acute care hospital has 208 beds and numerous outpatient clinics.

Covenant Health includes 15 hospitals, skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers and assisted living residences in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

“My dream was to come to America to see an American hospital,” says Homziak. “I had a great tour. In Ukraine, our hospital is not so big and not so nice.”

In Ukraine, hospital patients stay in rooms that are more like wards with five or

six beds. There are few private rooms, Homziak says, and she was amazed at how nice the private rooms are here. “Here, there are no smells in hospitals,” she says. Homziak was particularly interested in the emergency department. She had worked at a hospital ED before going into private practice.

The hospital has participated in medical and general supply drives led by Dr. Boris

Bronfine, a general surgeon from Serbia whose family is originally from Ukraine. Another general surgeon, Dr. Paul Stetsyuk, was born in Ukraine. He chatted with Homziak during her tour.

Dr. Alison Madden, the hospital’s vice president of medical affairs, led the tour. She says the Ukrainian connections go to show that the world is indeed small. Also, they affirmed the connection between doc-

At a picture of St. Marguerite d’Youville, Homziak, Mulvihill and Madden stopped to talk about Covenant Health’s mission and commitment to help the poor and those in need. St. Marguerite was the foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, or “Grey Nuns,” and helped establish St. Joseph in 1910.

Homziak returns to Ukraine in October. Her husband and 17-year-old daughter have stayed behind. There has not been much destruction from the war in her town, but there has been nearby, and the family often hears warning sirens from their home.

Until Homziak returns, she and Mulvihill plan to meet weekly at a local coffee shop. Homziak’s English has improved greatly since May, Mulvihill says.

Homziak says she hopes her English will help her in applying for international grants for Ukrainian hospitals. “All funding goes for the war and hospitals are having a difficult time purchasing equipment,” she says.

Homziak is grateful for St. Joseph’s hospitality and for Mulvihill’s help. “Some angels live in the sky,” says Homziak. “But she is down here.” vhahn@chausa.org

COMMUNITY BENEFIT 101: THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF COMMUNITY BENEFIT

“The

Catholic Health World (ISSN 87564068) is published semimonthly, except monthly in January, April, July and October and copyrighted © by the Catholic Health Association of the United States. POSTMASTER: Address all subscription orders, inquiries, address changes, etc., to CHA Service Center, 4455 Woodson Road, St. Louis, MO 63134-3797; phone: 800-230-7823; email: servicecenter@chausa.org.

Periodicals postage rate is paid at St. Louis and additional mailing offices. Annual subscription rates: CHA members free, others $29 and foreign $29.

Opinions, quotes and views appearing in Catholic Health World do not necessarily reflect those of CHA and do not represent an endorsement by CHA.

Acceptance of advertising for publication does not constitute approval or endorsement by the publication or CHA. All advertising is subject to review before acceptance.

Vice President Communications and Marketing

Brian P. Reardon

Editor Lisa Eisenhauer leisenhauer@chausa.org

314-253-3437

Associate Editor

Julie Minda jminda@chausa.org

314-253-3412

CHA’s Community Benefit 101: The Nuts and Bolts of Planning and Reporting Community Benefit, a virtual conference, will provide new community benefit professionals and others who want to learn about community benefit with the foundational knowledge and tools needed to run effective community benefit programs.

Attendees will receive a copy of CHA’s A Guide for Planning and Reporting Community Benefit.

Associate Editor Valerie Schremp Hahn vhahn@chausa.org 314-253-3410

Graphic Design Norma Klingsick Advertising ads@chausa.org 314-253-3477

What you will learn:

Taught by community benefit leaders, the program will cover what counts as community benefit; how to plan, evaluate and report on community benefit programs; accounting principles and a public policy update.

Who should attend:

 New community benefit professionals who want a comprehensive overview of all aspects of community benefit programming.

 Staff in mission, finance/tax, population health, strategic planning, diversity and inclusion, communications, government relations, and compliance who want to learn about the important relationship of their work and community benefit/community health.

 Veteran community benefit staff who want a refresher course to update them on current practices and inspire future activities.

We Will Empower Bold Change to Elevate Human Flourishing. SM

‘I think it was heaven-sent,’ says Covenant Health retiree who helped doctor learn English

From left, Dr. Halyna Homziak, Dr. Alison Madden and Nancy Mulvihill pose for a photo during a tour of St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, New Hampshire, in August. Homziak is from Ukraine. Madden is vice president of medical affairs at St. Joseph. Mulvihill is a retired vice president of corporate communications for Covenant Health and is also tutoring Homziak in English.

“CHA has great resources that were used as part of the program and I can already use the information presented in my day to day activities.”

SSM Health partnership to prepare workers to become radiologic technologists

By VALERIE SCHREMP HAHN

ST. LOUIS — Citing the shortage of radiologic technologists and the need for more St. Louisans to have stable jobs, SSM Health and Siemens Healthineers announced a 10-year partnership that includes an apprenticeship program with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, which supports people in underserved communities.

Along with the jobs program, SSM Health and Siemens Healthineers, a medical technology company based in Germany, announced more expanded oncology services across the health system’s footprint in Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, as well as more support with sustainability efforts.

“As we look at the mission of SSM Health, the mission of the Urban League, and the mission of Siemens Healthineers, we’ve realized all of them have a deep connection into serving and transforming their communities,” said Jeremy Fotheringham, regional president of SSM Health. “It’s a lift for all of us when we partner together like this.”

He attended an event at the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’ headquarters on Aug. 14 unveiling the partnership.

Michael McMillan, the league’s president and CEO, said he hopes the collaboration will lead to the employment of “hundreds more” going forward. The Urban

Upcoming Events from The Catholic

League is poised to enroll people in the apprenticeship program through its Save Our Sons and Save Our Sisters workforce development programs. It partnered with SSM Health during the height of the pandemic, providing workers to help administer COVID-19 tests and distribute personal protective equipment.

“The interest walks in the door every single day,” said McMillan. “There are always people looking for ways to take care of themselves and their families.”

Radiologic technologists, who operate X-ray, MRI and other diagnostic equipment, are in high demand. The Radiology Society of North America said that there are not enough diagnostic radiology trainees entering the workforce to handle the growing aging population, with the number of trainees entering the workforce increasing 2.5% from 2010 to 2020 compared to the number of adults over 65 increasing 34%.

The Advanced Health Education Center surveyed more than 350 clients from 34 states in 2021, and more than 81% reported

ERDs

From page 1

Association of the United States,” is to put those directives in context.

Brian M. Kane, CHA senior director of ethics, developed the annotations with CHA colleagues and with input from several dozen ethics experts from the Catholic health ministry as well as from the USCCB. He explains that over the several decades that the Ethical and Religious Directives have been in use, there has been much discussion in the ministry about how to interpret them, and CHA and others have produced many resources to explain how to apply them.

Kane says the annotation summarizes contextual points and provides links to related articles and other resources.

The 37-page annotation is available in print and electronically. The annotation can be accessed at chausa.org/erds. There is a fee, with a discount for CHA members.

Kane notes that the annotation will be a “living document.” CHA plans to produce new editions as the directives and the ministry’s understanding of them evolve. The USCCB is in the process of amending the

a staffing shortage, with nearly 70% of the unfilled positions in radiography.

“We have to keep this very sustainable because obviously this challenge is going on for years to come, unfortunately, when it comes down to the workforce challenges in health care,” said Dave Pacitti, president and head of the Americas at Siemens Healthineers.

Fotheringham said the shortages lead to longer wait times for diagnoses and treatment. “We really want to shorten that gap,” he said. “One of the most important things we can do as a health care organization is to get care where people need it, when they need it.”

The training program, which will be free, will include a combination of on-site and virtual learning. It will take about 18 months to complete.

Pacitti said program organizers hope to target high school students to make them aware of health care job opportunities. “This creates great community awareness,” he said of the partnership with Urban

League. “A lot of folks don’t know about these jobs.”

McMillan pointed out that the Urban League also can help trainees with housing, utilities and child care if they need it.

SSM Health said the partnership will strengthen its existing relationship with Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company, “to integrate oncology services, further optimize the utilization of diagnostic imaging equipment and technology, improve clinical and operational effectiveness, and ultimately enhance patient outcomes,” according to a press release.

Siemens, which does work in smart building technology and energy management, will be available to help SSM Health in its environmental sustainability efforts. The executives wouldn’t talk about the value of the deal. “We are helping SSM Health with streamlining diagnostic procedures across the 23-hospital system, and that results in significant cost savings,” said Pacitti.

vhahn@chausa.org

directives. Since their first publication in the Linacre Quarterly journal in 1948, the directives have been revised six times, with the latest version published in 2018.

CHA also has produced a video on the Ethical and Religious Directives. The video makes the directives understandable to a broad audience, Kane says. Ministry systems and facilities can use the video to orient new colleagues to what the directives are. There is a shorter version for general orientation and a longer version for orientation of colleagues who will work regularly with the directives, such as ethicists.

CHA produced the video in response to association members’ requests for such a resource.

Sr. Mary Haddad, RSM, CHA president and CEO, explains in an introductory note to the annotation why it is so important to CHA to provide resources on the directives. She writes that the association offers resources “so that those who serve our patients, and their loved ones can understand the medical and ethical conversations about particular issues.”

jminda@chausa.org

CHA produced a video that can be used to educate people about the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. Ministry facilities can use the video for employee orientation.

Thomas R Bailey Jr., vice president of development and special events at the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, speaks during a tour with representatives of SSM Health and Siemens Healthineers, which have joined forces to expand access to oncology services and training. Next to Bailey are Jeremy Fotheringham, SSM Health regional president, left forefront, and Dave Pacitti, president and head of the Americas at Siemens Healthineers.

Jerry Naunheim Jr./@CHA

Kane

Lifesaving effort

From page 1

a two-month hospitalization for Clifford that included 18 days in a coma, weeks on machines that functioned for his heart, lungs and kidneys, and five surgeries. That stay was followed by 2½ months in rehab, at the end of which, to the amazement of his family and some of his care providers, Clifford left St. Luke’s in mid-May and returned home using a walker but untethered to any devices.

“I’m so grateful that they took him there,” Patricia says of St. Luke’s Health — The Woodlands. “I just think the outcome would have been different had they taken him anywhere else.”

‘They were all thanking me’

In August, about three months after his discharge, Clifford and Patricia, along with some of their four children and eight grandchildren, got a chance to thank the first responders and St. Luke’s staffers who were part of the colossal lifesaving effort.

The Greens sat in the front row at a tearfilled reunion event arranged by St. Luke’s. Several of the dozens of people who had come to Clifford’s rescue — paramedics, doctors, nurses, therapists and more — spoke about how much his survival meant to them.

The outpouring of emotion left Clifford dumbstruck. “It was just unbelievable to me, because I’m sitting there wanting to thank them for saving my life and instead they were all thanking me for letting them be a part of my life,” he recalls.

Patel says seeing the 59-year-old walk into the reunion was an emotional experience for many who had witnessed Clifford’s

worst hours. “He was the sickest patient in the hospital for at least a month,” the surgeon says.

Unrelenting team effort

The medical team had been aware that Clifford’s situation was dire from the moment he arrived at St. Luke’s — The Woodlands. The 242-bed hospital is part of Houston-based St. Luke’s Health System, a subsystem of CommonSpirit Health.

With adult patients like Clifford who are in cardiac arrest, medical teams usually keep CPR brief. “The reason is, after 15 or 20 minutes of CPR, the risk of having a stroke that’s unrecoverable is so high,” Patel explains.

But in Clifford’s case, Patel and his colleagues saw that the lengthy resuscitation effort was working, with blood getting to the heart and Clifford rallying. Patel was among the doctors who decided that Clifford was strong enough for the next step, connection to an ECMO machine that took over for his heart and lungs. Then, Dr. Shareez Peerbhai, a cardiologist, put in a stent to open a coronary artery that was completely blocked.

Even with the blockage cleared and a machine handling breathing and blood flow, Clifford’s situation was touch and go for several days. In what came as no surprise to his doctors, he suffered a stroke and kidney failure as a result of the resuscitation effort. He needed to be heavily medicated and on dialysis.

“That was when I had to motivate the team quite a bit,” Patel recalls. “I’m like, I know it looks hopeless, but we just have to

wait and see what he does.”

Prayers and compassion

During the 18 days Clifford was in a coma, staffers made regular stops to his ICU room to reassure the family members who were a constant presence at his bedside.

Patricia says the family developed close relationships with many of those workers, one of whom was housekeeper Isabel Cumpian. Patricia describes her as “an angel on Earth.”

Even though Cumpian mainly speaks Spanish, Patricia says the Green family felt her compassion and was heartened by her belief that Clifford would recover. “She would comb his hair, she would massage

SCL Health hospitals, clinics renamed post-Intermountain merger

Intermountain Health is rebranding, and it also is renaming facilities that were part of SCL Health.

Intermountain Health and SCL Health merged in April 2022 and have since been integrating their facilities into one system. As part of that integration, Intermountain Health is rebranding itself with a new logo.

Over the next several months, dark blue signs with Intermountain Health’s coral and fuchsia logo will appear at Intermountain sites. According to a release, the dark

blue of the signage honors those facilities’ legacy, and the combination of coral and fuchsia in the new Intermountain logo is inspired by the natural surroundings of the western United States where Intermountain operates.

The legacy SCL Health sites include eight hospitals and more than 40 clinics in Colorado and Montana. With the rebranding comes new names for the legacy sites:

Good Samaritan Medical Center, Lafayette, Colorado, becomes Intermountain Health Good Samaritan Hospital on

the Good Samaritan Medical Campus

Holy Rosary Healthcare, Miles City, Montana, becomes Intermountain Health

Holy Rosary Hospital

Lutheran Medical Center, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, becomes Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital

Platte Valley Medical Center, Brighton, Colorado, becomes Intermountain Health

Platte Valley Hospital on the Platte Valley Medical Campus

Saint Joseph Hospital, Denver, becomes Intermountain Health Saint

his neck, and she would rub his hands and she would pray,” Patricia says. “She speaks broken English, but she would close her eyes and pray these amazing prayers.”

Clifford and Patricia believe Clifford’s release from ICU and eventual recovery was in no small part due to those and others’ prayers as well as the relentless effort of the St. Luke’s team. “We really do give God every bit of the glory because he put these people in our lives,” Patricia says.

Recognizing, celebrating

During Clifford’s hospitalization, Patel performed five surgeries and a dozen or so bedside procedures on him. One of the final surgeries was to remove a bleeding section of his colon. That rupture was unrelated to Clifford’s heart attack and the repair wasn’t within Patel’s area of expertise, but the cardiac surgeon stepped in because, after the trauma of his heart attack, any operation on Clifford was extra risky.

“Somehow, after all that, he came off dialysis, came off the ventilator and walked before he left the hospital,” Patel says.

Clifford’s discharge and the all-out team effort that led to it inspired Patel and his colleagues at St. Luke’s. “I think we don’t do enough of recognizing and celebrating these types of stories because it helps us recognize our staff and all the work that everyone does,” he says.

Clifford’s recovery continues. By midAugust, he’d lost a section of his left foot and was anticipating the removal of his right leg just below the knee. He says the amputations, the result of the loss of blood flow amid the massive effort to save him, are “a small price to pay” to resume his life. He’s uncertain whether he’ll be able to return to his job of 30 years with Siemens Building Technologies that involves controlling heating, ventilation and air conditioning units on large campuses.

Months after his return home, Clifford still chokes up when he discusses his St. Luke’s caregivers. “I don’t think I was just a statistic in their mind,” he says. “I felt that they truly cared, and for that I’ll forever be grateful.”

leisenhauer@chausa.org

Joseph Hospital

St. James Healthcare, Butte, Montana, becomes Intermountain Health St. James Hospital

St. Mary’s Medical Center, Grand Junction, Colorado, becomes Intermountain Health St. Mary’s Regional Hospital

St. Vincent Healthcare, Billings, Montana, becomes Intermountain Health St. Vincent Regional Hospital

First responders from the Montgomery County Emergency Service District and the Montgomery County Hospital District are recognized during a reunion gathering at St. Luke’s Health — The Woodlands in suburban Houston. The gathering brought together dozens of people who assisted in the response and treatment that saved Clifford Green after he suffered a heart attack.

Morgan Teague, cardiovascular nurse navigator at St. Luke's Health — The Woodlands, looks on as Clifford Green embraces Isabel Cumpian, a housekeeper at the hospital who prayed with Green and his family during his stay.

Patel

Peerbhai

“

I don’t think I was just a statistic in their mind. I felt that they truly cared, and for that I’ll forever be grateful.”

— Clifford Green

From page 1

change his trajectory” when it came to caring for his health, said Williams, who is the director of Spartanburg, South Carolina’s Miracle Hill Rescue Mission.

Williams and about three dozen other leaders of Greenville faith-based organizations who are part of the Greenville Awareness and Community Engagement group, or GACE, believe relationship-building and empowerment are key to engaging Black men and women in tackling the health concerns that are plaguing them and their loved ones.

Greenville’s Bon Secours St. Francis Health System convened the group of clergy — most of whom head Black congregations or missions — to provide insights on what health and wellness issues are of most concern to Black community members. The clergy group focuses on ways to get at those concerns. Bon Secours St. Francis recently merged this group with a similar one representing the Hispanic community, which brings GACE’s count to about 45 faith and mission leaders.

Taking the bull by the horns

Sean Dogan, a pastor who is the community health director of Bon Secours St. Francis, said GACE started in early 2020 when Bon Secours St. Francis President Matthew Caldwell held town hall-style meetings with Bon Secours St. Francis associates of minority backgrounds to get their perspective on how to address inequity. One of the ideas was to form a clergy council to advise on health topics important to the Black community. The idea was sidelined when COVID-19 struck. When Dogan was hired in 2021, he revived it.

Columbia Greenville

HEALTH DISPARITIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA

whelmingly enthusiastic response. “This clergy council took the bull by the horns,” Dogan said, in hopes of using the power of the pulpit to galvanize people of color to focus more on their health.

about mental health that they were eager to talk more. GACE and the commission plan to host more such events.

of non-Hispanic Black adults qualify as obese compared to 33.9% of Hispanics and 33% of non-Hispanic whites.

of non-Hispanic Black adults report having diabetes, compared to 12.2% for non-Hispanic whites.

The clergy group since has met a couple dozen times with Dogan and other Bon Secours St. Francis community health leaders to discuss concerns of church congregants. “It’s an organic conversation,” said Dogan. Among the health issues the group has surfaced are colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, hypertension, diabetes and mental health.

44.4% 20.1% 73% HIGHER

The age-adjusted incidence of breast cancer is 2.4% higher in white women than among Black women. However, the age-adjusted breast cancer death rate for Black women is 43% HIGHER than that for white women. and the death rate is 144% HIGHER than for white men.

An analysis from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control bears out that there is a disparity in health outcomes for people of color in the state. For instance, non-Hispanic Blacks have a higher incidence than whites for numerous conditions, including obesity, prediabetes and diabetes. And Black people have a higher death rate than white people for heart disease, breast cancer and prostate cancer.

Right around the corner

The age-adjusted prostate cancer incidence rate for Black men is

throughout Greenville to invite them to the GACE group and got an over-

INSIDE BEATS

THE HEART OF A HEALER

Once they identify the health concerns to target, GACE pastors work with Bon Secours St. Francis staff, particularly in the community health department, to develop educational campaigns for the pastors’ churches to address those health issues. The group also has advised Bon Secours St. Francis on how it can respond to the health issues in a way that will resonate with the community.

GACE pastors’ churches have hosted Bon Secours St. Francis clinicians to present workshop discussions on colorectal cancer and prostate cancer. Bon Secours St. Francis has used mission outreach program grant dollars from the Bon Secours Mercy Health Foundation to provide free cancer screening kits to the workshop attendees. Bon Secours St. Francis has supplied flyers on health topics for GACE churches to post.

The GACE group also has been engaging barbers and stylists who go to the pastors’ churches in a barbershop and beauty salon outreach effort. Those shops have received free training on how to talk about health topics with their clients and encourage them to address health concerns.

GACE faith leaders are well-connected to other organizations in the community that are working to reduce health disparities. GACE member Stacey Mills is executive director of the Greenville Racial Equity and Economic Mobility Commission and senior pastor at Greenville’s Mountain View Baptist Church. Founded by the United Way of Greenville County, the Urban League of the Upstate and the Greenville Chamber, the commission convenes local leaders to address matters of racial inequity, social justice and disparities, including those having to do with health.

Inside every person at Essentia Health, there beats the heart of a healer. Because the latest medical technologies, leading edge treatments or newest facilities alone do not heal people.

People heal people. And for over 135 years, the people of St. Mary’s have been called to do just that. St. Mary’s Medical Center may have a new address. But our heart? It’s right where it’s always been.

St. Mary’s Medical Center 402 East 2nd Street, Duluth EssentiaHealth.org/heartofhealer

Mills recently brought together GACE and the commission to host a community mental health discussion at one of the barbershops that had taken part in the barbershop initiative on a day the shop was closed. Mills said community members so appreciated the opportunity to speak candidly

Feeling heard, believed Bon Secours St. Francis, which has two hospital campuses in Greenville, has benefited from the insights of the GACE faith leaders. Those leaders have helped pinpoint neighborhoods lacking health care access, so Bon Secours St. Francis can dispatch its mobile health clinic to those areas and so leaders can look into longer-term solutions. Bon Secours St. Francis also has set up food donation “blessing boxes” and provided grocery gift certificates to residents in food deserts flagged by GACE members.

Mills and Williams said GACE’s efforts have made a big difference to their churches and the broader community. Mills said that deep-seated and long-standing trust concerns have in the past hindered Black community members from accessing health care. Additionally, Williams said, many community members have hesitated to get potentially problematic symptoms checked out. Mills added that many community members wait until they have a health crisis to seek care.

Mills and Williams said that because GACE’s efforts reach community members where they are and since the efforts are delivered in a community-informed way, the GACE initiatives are breaking through the trust barrier.

Mills noted that he and other pastors now are discovering that they can turn to the health care professionals they’re meeting through GACE efforts as a resource for when congregants have health questions. The pastors also have formed a tight-knit group with one another, and that is enabling them to have a new level of local support.

Mills said through GACE the pastors are seeing their congregants becoming more empowered about their health and addressing lingering conditions. Mills’ wife saw a flyer from a GACE event with information on where to get a mammogram locally. That flyer prompted her to get her first mammogram this spring at age 49. That screening showed that she had a breast cancer that warranted surgical intervention. She since has had a double mastectomy, and her clinicians are following up to diagnose another invasive cancer detected during her treatment.

Mills credited GACE with making important strides in the Black community and establishing a solid foundation, including when it comes to pointing out and addressing local health inequities. “For us to partner with this major health care provider in the community — we feel we’ve been seen, heard and believed,” he said.

jminda@chausa.org

PeaceHealth to close Eugene, Oregon, hospital

PeaceHealth on Aug. 22 announced plans to close PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center University District in Eugene, Oregon, saying that it is underutilized.

Upon regulatory approval, the system will transition inpatient rehabilitation, emergency department and related medical services from the hospital to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, less than 6 miles away in Springfield. Ambulatory services, as well as clinics and home and community ser-

vices, will remain open. Behavioral health services will continue at University District until there is a “sustainable alternative in the community,” according to a press release.

Patient volume at the hospital has decreased over the years and the facility consistently loses an average of $2 million monthly, according to the release. It serves an average of 95 patients every day, with an average of 15.5 patients admitted per month as inpatients and 7.5 admitted for observation.

Source: South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

Dogan

He approached the leaders of Black churches

Mills

“For us to partner with this major health care provider in the community — we feel we’ve been seen, heard and believed.”

— Stacey Mills

Domestic violence toolkit

From page 1

donut, said her supervisor, Ed Kelly. Concerned, Kelly asked police to check on her. Spokane police found Hernandez fatally stabbed in her apartment. Her boyfriend later pleaded guilty to a murder charge in her death.

Hernandez’s death shocked her colleagues throughout the hospital system. They wanted to do something to keep another family, hospital or business from enduring a similar tragedy. Providence connected with the Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Coalition and offered funding to create a toolkit that could help businesses and nonprofits across the region address the growing public health crisis.

‘We needed to do something’

In May, the coalition rolled out the Domestic Violence Toolkit, an online workplace training program designed to help businesses and nonprofits recognize the signs of domestic violence in their employees and volunteers and learn how to respond. Providence contributed $250,000 to produce the site and its contents. The training was developed with additional community partners, including the YMCA in Spokane.

“I think individuals care a lot,” said Stacey. “We all understand mandatory reporting. But we needed to do something clear and compelling to say that this is not just a community issue, but this is a business issue as well as a mission issue. How do we support other businesses?”

The Society for Human Resource Management reports that 65% of companies do not have a formal workplace domestic violence prevention policy and 80% do not offer training on domestic violence. This concerns Providence leaders, since the society says 21% of full-time employed adults reported they were victims of domestic violence, with 74% of that group saying they have been harassed at work.

An employee or co-worker experiencing domestic violence at home might have trouble concentrating at work, often arrive late,

RESPONDING TO ABUSE

When responding to abuse you should always:

Maintain confidentiality

Thank the victim for telling you

Ask how you can support them

Listen without judgment

Keep supporting

Believe the victim

Domestic violence can enter the workplace through:

Disruptive phone calls

Harassing emails

Inappropriate visits by the abuser

Threats of harm to the victim’s co-workers

Physical violence in the workplace

Source: endtheviolencespokane.org/toolkit

Create a workplace culture where violence, in any form, is not tolerated and is actively prevented.

Detail emergency protocols and procedures to follow if a violent act has occurred or may occur.

Share agency and community resources — especially useful when onboarding new staff and providing yearly refreshers.

Source: endtheviolencespokane.org/toolkit

miss work more frequently than others, and be less productive, the toolkit points out.

Spokane County has the highest rate of domestic violence in Washington, based on a 2019 study. One in every three women and one in every 10 men are victims of domestic violence in the Spokane region, according to the Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Coalition.

Taffy Hunter, the education and outreach coordinator for the coalition, oversaw the development and release of the toolkit and speaks in some of the video clips. She is also a domestic violence survivor. She says domestic violence in Spokane is complicated and connected to community stressors such as poor mental health, food insecurity and homelessness.

“Across the board, our community is suffering,” Hunter said.

The coalition has existed in some form since the early 1990s. Providence was a founding funder, and the coalition is made up of law enforcement, social services, health and other groups. Since each handles a piece of the domestic violence issue, the hospital and coalition already had expertise available to help write a script and put together the toolkit.

Elements of the toolkit

Three 15-minute modules of the toolkit are designed for employees. The modules cover what domestic violence is, how to recognize that a colleague may be experiencing it, how to talk to them about it, and where to go for more help.

Three more 15-minute modules are for human resource professionals. The modules cover how to direct employees for support, how to increase safety in the workplace, and how to set up a domestic violence prevention policy. Some of the topics refer specifically to Washington state laws, but the program can be adapted for other states.

The modules are made up of short video clips, talking points and graphics of information, simple quizzes and interactive questions, and even yoga breaks.

“Some of this content may be upsetting.

Establish a code of conduct that includes a zero tolerance policy of violence, harassment and bullying in the workplace.

Normalize seeking help when needed, whether the struggles involve domestic violence, mental health challenges, or relationship and parenting. All these areas impact worker productivity and morale.

Reflect a commitment to strict employee/ employer confidentiality.

Please take care of yourself, and feel free to take a break if needed,” host Audrey Overstreet tells users in the introduction.

The toolkit also includes information for perpetrators to get help.

Making a difference

As the collaborators publicize the program, they have heard one main reaction from people running businesses, said Stacey: “Wow, I didn’t know I needed to think about this, and I really do.” She said that building awareness is a first step for small and medium-sized businesses.

Hunter said organizers already have heard from businesses that accessed the toolkit because an employee had disclosed abuse. “That means so much to me,” said Hunter, her voice cracking with emotion.

The employers used advice from the toolkit to access resources and talk through the issue with the employee in a nonjudgmental, trauma-informed way. “So immediately, boots on the ground, people are accessing the toolkit, making a difference in the individual’s life. And we’re really, really excited about it,” said Hunter.

She said that local chambers of commerce and business coalitions have requested presentations from the coalition on the toolkit. Organizers are looking for more funds to cover the costs of in-person training and also will provide consultation to those who want to build their own workplace policy.

Rumors and rumblings

Hernandez’s supervisor, Kelly, spoke to the media and his colleagues at the toolkit announcement. “I could always tell when Patty was in the break room,” he said. “The noise was different. It was lively. It was fun.”

He described the gut-wrenching morning when Hernandez didn’t show up for work, and when he and another supervisor got the news from police that she had been murdered.

They had heard “rumors and rumblings” about troubles with her boyfriend, but nothing specific, he said. They had asked her if everything was OK. “She would always say yes, with her beautiful smile,” Kelly said.

He implored others to pay attention to their co-workers, to get involved if things just don’t feel right.

“We often look back on that situation and think, What could we have done differently to get Patty out of that situation, to get her help?” he said. “We still don’t have that answer. The answer isn’t always obvious.

“I hope that none of you will have to go through what we did. ... However, if you do, I hope with the launch of this toolkit, you will be able to help your employees, your friends, your family, your co-workers, your neighbors,” he said.

The Domestic Violence Toolkit can be accessed online at endtheviolencespokane. org/toolkit.

vhahn@chausa.org

KEEPING UP

PRESIDENTS/CEOS

Mark Sullivan stepped down as president and CEO of Catholic Health of Buffalo, New York, on Aug. 31 after a 30-year career with the health system. Joyce Markiewicz, the system’s executive vice president and chief business development officer, succeeded Sullivan as president and CEO, beginning Sept. 1. Sullivan plans to pursue opportunities to mentor, educate and prepare future health care executives, says a press release.

Daniel W. Jackson to ministry market executive, Ascension Wisconsin and senior vice president, Ascension. Jackson joined Ascension Wisconsin earlier this year as interim president and CEO of Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital — Milwaukee Campus. Before joining Ascension Wisconsin, Jackson was CEO of Detroit Medical Center’s Sinai-Grace Hospital, part of Tenet Healthcare. A search is underway to identify a new president and CEO for Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital — Milwaukee Campus. Jackson will continue in that role until it is filled.

Luke Schubert to president and CEO of Felician Village in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. He was regional director of operations for Rennes Group, which operates senior living facilities throughout Northeast Wisconsin. Schubert replaces Frank Soltys, who moved to senior vice president, senior living and healthcare for Felician Services Inc. Felician Village includes rehabilitation, independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing care.

SSM Health Wisconsin makes changes in hospital leadership

SSM Health has made changes to the leadership structure and personnel for its Wisconsin region. It did so to further integrate operations across SSM Health’s seven regional hospitals in that state. The changes include:

Kyle Nondorf to regional vice president for acute care operations, Northern Markets, with responsibility for SSM Health Wisconsin hospitals in Baraboo, Fond du Lac, Ripon and Waupun. Previously Nondorf was president of SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital — Madison, Wisconsin, and interim president of St. Clare Hospital — Baraboo in Wisconsin.

Dawit Tesfasilassie to regional vice president for acute care operations, Southern Markets, with responsibility for SSM Health Wisconsin hospitals in Janesville, Madison and Monroe. He was chief operations officer and interim CEO for Havasu Regional Medical Center in Arizona.

Eric Thornton to president of St. Mary’s Hospital — Madison, from president of SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital — Janesville.

SSM Health Monroe Hospital President Jane Curran-Meuli will expand her scope to include oversight of both St. Mary’s Hospital — Janesville and the Monroe facilities.

DeAnn Thurmer, president of SSM Health’s Ripon Community and Waupun Memorial Hospitals, will expand her oversight to also include St. Clare Hospital — Baraboo.

Sullivan Markiewicz Jackson

Ed Kelly, manager of environmental services at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, speaks to the media and others at a launch event for the Domestic Violence Toolkit in May. Kelly had been the supervisor of Edna "Patty" Hernandez, a fatal victim of domestic violence.

IN BRIEF

Mercy St. Louis unveils statue of pioneering Sr. Rocklage

The life and service of Sr. Mary Roch Rocklage, RSM, are commemorated in a sculpture that was unveiled Aug. 24 on the campus of Mercy St. Louis at The Mercy Center for Performance Medicine & Specialty Care.

Colorado artist Jane DeDecker was commissioned to sculpt Sr. Rocklage. Affectionately known as “Sr. Roch,” Sr. Rocklage created Mercy’s integrated health care system. She also anticipated the need to transition leadership of the Sisters of Mercy Health System to lay leaders and guided that work over several years. In 2014, CHA honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Sr. Rocklage died in August 2022.

The sculpture’s name is “Permeating Presence,” a description Sr. Rocklage often used for Mercy leaders. The statue rep-

Placement crisis

From page 1

Missouri-based Mercy. The system has 12 hospitals in Missouri.

Default placement

Over the last year, Mercy hospitals housed as many as 40 adults and a halfdozen foster children, primarily adolescents. Many stay for months, some for a year or longer, in units meant to provide temporary stabilizing care.

For some, their needs are very complex. They may be unable to communicate with words and unable to manage daily activities such as eating and getting dressed. They may be at risk for hurting themselves or others. In some instances, their needs may be so significant that they must be housed alone, taking up spaces designed for several people.

Morrow says a lack of appropriate placement options and supports within the state system is the primary driver of the crisis. That lack, she says, leaves hospitals as the “default placement.”

“We already have a mental health crisis across the country, and other patients need psychiatric services,” she says. “This has a domino effect in places like our emergency departments and other areas where they need care — and we may not have the capacity to care for them.”

Children in foster care who are being housed in inpatient Mercy psychiatric units receive compassionate care and treatment though they are not living normal lives, Morrow says. They are unable to attend school, engage in social activities with peers or be outdoors, all of which she says can have a very detrimental impact on their mental health and development.

“There’s a collective sentiment among providers across the state that this is harming children,” Morrow says.

It also diverts financial resources that could be used for other hospital needs. Over the past year, Mercy has spent more

than $400,000 caring for these nontraditional patients in psychiatric wards, a figure that doesn’t include those temporarily boarded on medical floors and emergency departments.

“We do not get reimbursed for most of the care,” Morrow says. “So it creates a pretty significant financial burden.”

A new normal

St. Louis-based SSM Health is also struggling to absorb the expense of caring for foster children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who remain within the system due to lack of placement options. The system has nine hospitals in Missouri.

The system’s hospitals now typically house a half-dozen children and more than three times that many adults. SSM Health loses money each day a patient is boarded, according to Michelle Schafer, regional vice president, behavioral health.

“The cost of boarding patients is very significant,” she said.

“Medicaid reimburses us at their standard rates, but that is lower than our actual

costs.”

For 2023, the Missouri Medicaid perdiem rates range from $1,086 to $2,316, depending on patient needs.

The crisis over housing these patients is not going away anytime soon. “It is definitely the new normal in the state of Missouri,” Schafer says.

Schafer predicts things will only get worse, “unless we start working together and thinking about transformational ways to take care of those who are marginalized and suffering.”

‘Just blew my mind’

Missouri state Sen. Elaine Gannon, R-DeSoto, found out about the situation last year when she heard Schafer testify in a hearing.

“Oh my gosh, I’d never heard of that before, where a patient could be in the hospital for over a year because there’s nowhere to place them,” Gannon says. “It just blew my mind.”

Gannon approached Schafer about forming a committee, with Schafer at the helm. The committee’s regular meetings of state providers, members of advocacy groups, and hospital representatives, including Morrow from Mercy, have grown from a dozen members to 30.

As the committee began to strategize, Gannon and others also focused on legislative solutions. Gannon attached to an existing bill a proposal formalizing the committee. In July, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed it into law.

“The bill brings the stakeholders together to design a sustainable solution, to identify the gaps and apply resources where and when necessary to address this issue,” Gannon says.

The legislation gives the committee new resources. For example, it provides funding

resents three stages of her life: as a young Sister of Mercy, as a health care leader and as a prayerful matriarch.

Former CommonSpirit executive honored for philanthropy work

The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy this year gave its top honor to Fred Najjar, who retired in July as executive vice president and chief philanthropy officer of CommonSpirit Health and president of CommonSpirit Health Foundation.

The association’s Si Seymour Award recognizes distinguished leadership in association affairs and the health care philanthropy community.

During his tenure at CommonSpirit, Najjar oversaw more than 80 local foundations and one national foundation that represented nearly 60,000 donors, 1,500 governance members, and about $300 million in support annually.

for a consultant group to help the committee gather and use data to inform its ideas.

Schafer emphasizes the committee’s cooperative spirit. “This is not about blame, this isn’t about who isn’t doing what,” she says. “We have all come together in this crisis to lean in, look together at it through different lenses and solve it.”

Bold change

The committee’s chief focus is the patients’ well-being, Schafer says. Members are exploring not only how to resolve the crisis but also how to prevent it from happening again. Conversations include ideas about how to support foster families, shore up residential care facilities and expand mental health resources. Missouri has more than 13,000 children in foster care, according to the state Department of Social Services website.

Hospitals in other states, including sereral SSM Health hospitals in Oklahoma, are dealing with similar issues. In Oregon, PeaceHealth, Providence St. Joseph Health and another health system filed suit last fall alleging that the state is forcing acute care hospitals to provide long-term care for patients who have been civilly committed due to severe mental health issues.

As Missouri stakeholders work to hammer out solutions — and it’s unclear how long that might take — Schafer envisions the committee’s process becoming a national inspiration.

“I really hope for us to have a model for other states that are experiencing the same situation, so that they can come together in a similar way,” Schafer says.

She says the committee’s work is directly tied to the Catholic mission, pointing to CHA’s new vision statement.

“The statement says that, ‘We will empower bold change to elevate human flourishing,’” Schafer says. “And I think this hospital situation is a microcosm of what’s going to happen if we don’t do that.”

“We already have a mental health crisis across the country, and other patients need psychiatric services. This has a domino effect in places like our emergency departments and other areas where they need care — and we may not have the capacity to care for them.”

— Patricia Morrow

Michelle Schafer, regional vice president, behavioral health at SSM Health, leads a statewide committee focused on how to address the dearth of placement options in Missouri that is resulting in some patients who are not in need of medical care being indefinitely housed in hospitals.

Gannon

Creator Jane DeDecker, far left, watches with others as her sculpture of Sr. Mary Roch Rocklage, RSM, is put in place on the campus of Mercy St. Louis. The monument depicts three stages of Sr. Rocklage's life.

Najjar

At new St. Mary’s of Duluth campus, decor pays homage to region’s diversity, history

By JULIE MINDA

In addition to being equipped with a physical plant and technology to carry it into the future, the new Essentia Health — St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, Minnesota, is accented with artwork that reflects its surroundings and history.

The hospital was rebuilt in a $900 million construction project, which Essentia leadership dubbed “Vision Northland.” St. Mary’s is the flagship for Essentia and one of five Catholic hospitals within the 14-hospital system.

An Essentia interior design committee worked closely with Essentia leadership, an art consultant, and Vision Northland’s architectural firm to commission new installations, invite local artists to produce pieces, and select artwork from the legacy campus.

“We strived to create a diverse collection so there will be something here for everyone to enjoy,” says Laura Pfenninger, Essentia project manager.

232 patients in 6.5 hours

A group of Benedictine Sisters who arrived in Duluth at the request of civic and church leaders in 1881 established St. Mary’s Hospital in 1888. The campus changed greatly over the years through replacements and expansions but remained at that site. Four years ago, St. Mary’s broke ground on land next to its legacy campus for the new site.

The 942,000-square-foot building that opened July 30 has 344 private patient rooms, each with an expansive view of Lake Superior or Duluth’s hillsides. The new hospital has 16 operating rooms, a children’s hospital, a heart and vascular center and an emergency department.

Essentia board member and former St. Mary’s CEO Sr. Kathleen Hofer, OSB, says on opening day patient care crews helped transfer 232 patients in 6.5 hours from the legacy to the replacement campus.

Personal connections

Pfenninger says the design decisionmakers wanted to use visual cues in the art and design to evoke the region’s roots, history, beautiful surroundings, people and St. Mary’s long-standing connection to the community.

They accomplished this in many ways.

In 2021, they put out a call for local and regional artists to create fine art of various types to adorn the new facility’s walls. About 250 artists from Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota responded.

Some of the 100 selected pieces were made by local Native American artists or pay homage to indigenous culture. For instance, artist Rabbett Strickland created art related to the creation story promulgated by the Ojibwe Native American people. Artist Leah Yellowbird, who has Algonquin-Metis and Anishinaabe Native American heritage, used antique beading and items from nature to make her works.

The designers also put out a call for an artist to create an outdoor sculpture for the hospital’s main entrance. The chosen artist, Sara Balbin of Drummond, Wisconsin, created a silver metal sculpture called “The

“People come here not necessarily in the best of times — they or their loved one may be sick. ... We wanted the views and the artwork to help create a calming, welcoming place for them.”

—

Healing Waters of Gitchi Gamig” that Balbin says in a press release evokes the grace, beauty and power of Lake Superior “while symbolizing healing properties.” Balbin was diagnosed in 2021 with breast cancer and received most of her treatment at Essentia facilities. She dedicated the sculpture she created to the kindness and patience of the Essentia staff who treated her illness.

Moss and lichens

The internal design committee provided direction to Vision Northland’s architecture firm on Duluth-area attractions and sites to photograph for use as themes for each patient floor, as well as for wall art in the hospital concourse.

Patient floor themes incorporate photos from several natural areas in the region, including Jay Cooke State Park, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Gooseberry Falls and the Apostle Islands. St. Mary’s birth department includes photographs of sunrises, Lake Superior beaches and rock cairns. The pediatrics department includes images of local moose, deer and other wildlife. The emergency department includes photos taken in birch forests.

In the cafeteria and in other areas of the hospital is artwork inspired by the local Native American community’s heritage, including mosaics that call to mind the art of basket weaving and ceilings with artwork in the shape of canoes.

Two large-scale green walls that St. Mary’s commissioned are made of dehydrated native plants including moss and lichen. One of the green walls stretches from floor to ceiling in a multistory entryway. That green wall was created to resemble a map of the local Apostle Islands.

Benedictine heritage

The design committee also partnered with Essentia mission department members and with St. Mary’s sponsor, the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery, to ensure the correct selection, transport and placement of religious art and artifacts.

Many items were brought over from the legacy campus or the sisters’ nearby mon-

A committee helped curate art for the new Essentia Health — St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, Minnesota. Among the pieces on display are, clockwise from top, a towering green wall in the lobby made of dehydrated plants and shaped to resemble a map of the local Apostle Islands; acrylic art titled “Man Transferring into Healer (Makwa)” by Minneapolis artist Gordon Coons; and the outdoor metallic sculpture called “The Healing Waters of Gitchi Gamig” by Sara Balbin of Drummond, Wisconsin.

astery, including religious statues, the stations of the cross images and a medallion depicting Mary and Jesus. The sisters consulted with the hospital on the placement of a tabernacle and a historic hand-carved crucifix and they donated a new, stainedglass window depicting St. Benedict and his sister St. Scholastica embracing.

Pfenninger says, “People come here not

necessarily in the best of times — they or their loved one may be sick. They may need to pause, step away and take their mind off their situation. We wanted the views and the artwork to help create a calming, welcoming place for them.”

Visit chausa.org/chw to view more of St. Mary’s art. jminda@chausa.org

Pfenninger

Laura Pfenninger