9 minute read
The Call to Service is a Family Affair
at Saint Francis Health System
When you work closely with people for years, even decades, they can become more than coworkers, colleagues or even friends; they become family. Nowhere is that more true than Saint Francis Health System, where the team of more than 10,500 strong—the largest employee base in Tulsa—is united in a shared mission: “To extend the presence and healing ministry of Christ in all we do.”
That timeless, immutable mantra was first put into place by Saint Francis’ founders, Natalie O. and William K. Warren Sr., and has continued to this day. While the Warrens are the first family of Saint Francis, there are other employees who don’t just share the same mission, but also share a family bond.
Proudly, these Saint Francis employees prove that the call to serve in Christ’s name is a family affair, one that lasts through the generations. Here are just a few stories. DETOUR LEADS TO THREE GENERATIONS OF SERVICE Saint Francis Health System opened its doors October 1, 1960, but Frank Hamilton had been hard at work in the warehouse since September 3. “There was a lot to do in preparing for the hospital’s big opening day,” says Hamilton.
Those first four weeks turned into a career that lasted more than half a century, and came to include three generations of Hamilton’s own family. Nobody would have been more surprised than the patriarch himself.
“It was ‘easy come, easy go’ in those days,” says Hamilton, who stopped in Tulsa on his way to California to visit his uncle. Hamilton ended up staying and chose Green Country over the Golden State, and
Frank Hamilton and daughter Bonnie VanOrsdol
– Bonnie VanOrsdol
went to work at the soon-to-open pink hospital on the hill, Saint Francis.
Hamilton proved his skills in the warehouse, and in 1969 was asked personally by Mr. Warren Sr. to manage laundry and linen services, where Hamilton served until his retirement in 2015. Hamilton’s favorite part of his 55-year career was “the people I’ve met and the friendships I’ve made,” most especially his staff. “It’s been great to watch them have families and then see their kids and grandkids grow up.”
Among the families Hamilton watched grow up at Saint Francis was his own. Hamilton’s two sons and daughter were all born at the hospital, and all of them launched their own lengthy careers at Saint Francis.
“It was so amazing to work with him,” says daughter Bonnie VanOrsdol of her father, who became a Saint Francis institution. “He always tried to do what was best for the hospital, not just laundry.”
VanOrsdol started her own Saint Francis career in financial services on January 15, 1987, claiming her “accounting brain came from my mom” (who also, naturally, worked at Saint Francis). She was not the only one. Eleven members of the Hamilton family have worked at Saint Francis, including children, their spouses, grandchildren, siblings, in-laws and nieces.
“I grew up at Saint Francis,” says VanOrsdol. “Everyone is connected. Everybody takes care of everybody.”
The familial culture started with the Warrens and has carried on for six decades and counting thanks to employees like the Hamiltons. “The Warrens knew the employees would build this hospital,” says Hamilton. Three generations and eleven members of his family have proven this statement is true.
“I stayed because Saint Francis is an extension of my family,” says VanOrsdol. “I bleed pink.”
Frank Hamilton in 1960
Eleven members of the Hamilton family have worked at Saint Francis.
Isaac Roberson, chemotherapy technician, Saint Francis Pharmacy
IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY Isaac Roberson, a chemotherapy technician in the Saint Francis Pharmacy, says it was his wife—and his mom too, for that matter—that encouraged him to apply for a job at Saint Francis.
“Ever since my wife, ShiQuela, began working at Saint Francis seven years ago or so, she kept telling me I should too. She loved her position as a phlebotomist at the Warren Clinic — especially her direct work with patients. Now, she is taking on another challenge at Saint Francis and is training to be a nurse in the ER at the main hospital,” Isaac said.
“I grew up seeing how much my mom loved working at Saint Francis. l always wanted to work at Saint Francis too and I knew if and when I did, it would be the pinnacle of my pharmacy career. That’s why before applying, I felt I needed to build up my experience and skills.”
That was over two years ago. Now, working at Saint Francis Hospital and the Saint Francis Cancer Center, Isaac believes he has been living the dream. In addition to that, Isaac was honored this year as one of five employees from across the health system to receive a prestigious Saint Francis Health System Values Award. He was honored for the value of Dignity.
“I was so honored to be recognized in that way,” he said, “In my work as a chemotherapy pharmacy technician, the best part of my day is when I am mixing a patient’s medication and saying a prayer dedicated especially to that person. I believe Saint Francis is a blessed placed to be because people truly do treat each other as they’d like to be treated. I see these actions not only among my coworkers in the pharmacy, but throughout the health system, as well.”
And, as for Isaac’s mother, Lucinda Borlay, she has enjoyed a 27-year jump on her son and daughter-in-law as a respiratory therapy supervisor at Saint Francis Hospital.
“It makes me so happy to have both my son and daughter-in-law here at Saint Francis. Despite the fact I rarely get to see them since I work the night shift, just knowing they are here is a wonderful feeling,” Lucinda said. “I have always worked in respiratory therapy and from the very beginning, I have considered my coworkers my second family and Saint Francis my second home.”
whether they are related or not.”
– Isaac Roberson
Pictured with Isaac Roberson are the 2019-2020 Saint Francis Health System Values Awards winners: Cameron Nichols, Lisa Early, Carrie Veldstra and Maria Moore.
LOVE THE ONES YOU’RE WITH “Once I started working here, my wife and mom said, ‘Finally!’ It really has worked out great because you want your loved ones nearby,” Isaac said. “Saint Francis is based on such a strong family dynamic. It is a place where people really do treat each other like family—whether they are related or not! So, as we celebrate Saint Francis’ 60th anniversary, here’s to my own family’s anniversary with the health system—which I hope continues for generations to come.”
Lucinda adds: “Our family is proud to be part of the Saint Francis family. The high standards that are set here— and the people who work here—are what have always set Saint Francis Health System apart.”
–Mike Lissau
A COLD-CALL TURNS INTO A LIFE’S CALLING There are striking parallels between Saint Francis Health System founder William K. Warren, Sr. and the longtime president of the Warren Foundation, William (Bill) Lissau. Both were successful businessmen who sold their firms and set their sights on philanthropy. Both men also found their second careers, and their life’s true calling.
“I had just sold my company and the Bishop (Bernard J. Ganter, who served as Bishop of the Diocese of Tulsa from 1973 to 1977) asked me to help with an endowment for Bishop Kelley High School,” says Lissau. His first major assignment? Cold call Mr. Warren, Sr. for a contribution. Lissau got in touch with Mr. Warren, but in addition to the contribution the conversation turned to the Warren Foundation’s future. “I said ‘you shouldn’t bring in [an outside consultant] for advice’,” says Lissau. “‘You need to teach someone your philosophy.’” That someone turned out to be Lissau.
“Mr. Warren asked me to interview with the board,” says Lissau. “I stayed up all night and practiced in the mirror.”
Whatever he did clearly worked, as he became president of the William K. Warren Foundation, a position he held from 1981 to 2011. During Lissau’s three-decade tenure, the Foundation contributed more than $400 million to the community. Lissau also became the bearer of the Warren family ethos.
“It was the best time of my life,” says Lissau. “He would talk to me in parables and he taught me every day.”
After Mr. Warren, Sr. passed away, Lissau helped bring his grandson, John-Kelly Warren, back to Tulsa from Houston to help oversee the family’s business and philanthropic interests. Today his son Mike Lissau serves as general counsel for Saint Francis Health System.
Saint Francis has been a part of Mike’s life since boyhood. “I had a model of the hospital in my train set as a kid,” he says. As an adult, he remained connected to Saint Francis. All four of his children were born at Saint Francis and baptized in the chapel. “This is our place,” he says.
When Mike accepted a position at Saint Francis in 2018, the first person he called was his father. “It makes me proud to follow in my dad’s footsteps,” says Mike. “Those are big shoes to fill and I probably never will.” He has certainly gotten a great start, providing keen legal insight during Saint Francis’ recent drive to recruit physicians in critical areas like cardiology, oncology, trauma, and surgery, as well as the expansion of Warren Clinics to new locations.
The principles that built Saint Francis, which Mr. Warren, Sr. taught to Bill Lissau four decades ago, are as strong as ever. “It truly is a family,” says Lissau. “It’s given me a sense of purpose.”
The purpose Lissau speaks about is summed up best by his son: “Everything we do is focused on ‘doing the right thing’,” says Mike.
This purpose has guided the Saint Francis Health System family—from the 10,000-plus people working today to the thousands more who came before—for 60 years and counting.
Because serving others is more than a career; it’s a calling.
– Bill Lissau
Dr. Dwight Holder, former governor Henry Bellmon, Bill Warren, Jr., Bill Lissau, Mayor Roger Randall and Archbishop Eusebius Beltran, breaking ground for Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital
