by Therese Horvat
Special to The Leaven
OLATHE — Far from their homeland in India, members of two different congregations of Catholic Sisters are very much at home in their health ministry to residents of Villa St. Francis, a top-rated care community serving the elderly, infirm and vulnerable regardless of their ability to pay.
Six members of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Ann (CSSA) and five of the Medical Sisters of St. Joseph (MSJ) collaborate with lay staff to provide quality clinical care. Above and beyond that, the Sisters are a palpable presence of Jesus’ healing ministry to residents, families and staff at the 170-bed archdiocesan care community in Olathe.
Teamwork, longevity abound
The Sisters credit the entire staff and administration for recent recognition of Villa St. Francis with a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and as a PEAK Mentor by the state of Kansas for providing resident-centered care. (The acronym “PEAK” stands for Providing Excellent Alternatives in Kansas.) Sister Celine Paily, MSJ local superior, acknowledges the teamwork that abounds at Villa St. Francis and the full support and encouragement offered by nursing management.
Sister Ann Thannickal Varghese, CSSA local superior, agrees.
“Every staff member works to benefit the residents,” she said. Sister Rose Allam, CSSA, a nurse supervisor on the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift, points to the bonding and collaboration among the different departments.
“We don’t feel like we are employees,” Sister Rose added. “We are family. Villa St. Francis feels like home.”
Jill Allin, executive director, is impressed by the culture that she believes distinguishes the Villa community. She emphasizes that Villa St. Francis has processes and systems in place to transition quality care across shifts and to help ensure that residents’ needs are met. She cites the longevity of staff as another asset. This applies to the Sisters as well as lay employees. Sister Rose has worked at Villa St. Francis for 20 years; Sister Ann and Sister Celine, both nurse supervisors, each for 18 years. Sister Ann additionally performs charge nurse duties.
Allin considers the Sisters an added distinction of the facility.
“They are good in their clinical work, they convey a sense of joy and peace and they love being part of the Villa community,” she said.
Father Karl Good, full-time chaplain, describes the Sisters as amazing and loved by the residents. Through Father Good’s efforts and with the assistance of dedicated volunteers, residents have the opportunity to attend daily Mass, weekly eucharistic adoration, monthly anointing of the sick and seasonal prayer offerings. In collaboration with other churches, there are Bible studies and interdenominational services.
‘Through the body to the soul’
The Sisters add another highly visible layer to Villa’s Catholic identity.
“We work together to bring Jesus to patients,” Father Good explained. “The Sisters embody spirituality and have a great impact on our Catholic facility.”
This is borne out in multiple ways. As Sister Ann makes rounds in the evening, she asks residents if she can say a prayer with and for them. She believes this is especially helpful when the individual is experiencing distress or pain. She marks the foreheads of Catholics with the sign of the cross
While the night shift doesn’t offer many opportunities for visiting with residents, Sister Rose takes time to sit with those new to the community who may be confused or disoriented and with others on the hospice unit who have no family with them. Other staff members often call upon the Sisters to help calm a resident who may be extremely restless.
In their characteristic white habits, the caregiving Sisters are often perceived as angels, particularly through the night and as death draws near for a resident. Sister Celine experiences amazing grace when residents who are dying open their eyes as she is praying with them. She finds that this offers much appreciated consolation to families.
“Our work is a ministry reaching others through the body to the soul,” concluded Sister Celine.
The Sisters are nurses, certified nurse aides and certified medication aides. Additionally, they provide support for families who may be having difficulties accepting the declining health of their loved ones. Staff, too, share their individual and family prayer requests with the Sisters.
Ministry grounded in spirituality
Seeing the Sisters praying in the chapel before they clock in to their shifts conveys the essence of their spirituality to Brad Heidrick, CEO of Catholic Community Health, a ministry of the archdiocese that encompasses Villa St. Francis, hospice and home care with the goal of carrying out Jesus’ healing mission.
Heidrick views the concepts of “quality” and “Catholic” as synonymous in care delivery. He says this becomes especially relevant in ensuring services for those who are poor and vulnerable, and complying with the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services promulgated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Both religious congregations came to the archdiocese from India at the invitation of the late Archbishop James P. Keleher. The Medical Sisters of St. Joseph, who were serving and continue to serve at a nursing facility in Wichita, arrived in the archdiocese in July 2002. The Sisters of St. Ann established their first convent in the United States in Olathe in February 2005, early in the tenure of Archbishop Emeritus Joseph F. Naumann.
With the exception of Sister Rose who works nights, the Sisters serve on the 3 to 11 p.m. shift. This allows them to attend daily Mass in their parishes and to pray together as individual communities — all important and foundational for their health ministry.
Members of both congregations have the opportunity to return periodically to India for time with family and friends. When their superiors from India visit the Sisters in the United States, they sense their happiness with their ministry and with their lives as women religious.
“The residents’ happiness is my happiness,” reflects Sister Ann. “This is home for us.”
“I’m very thankful to the archdiocese for inviting us here,” added Sister Rose, “to our parishes for welcoming us, and to Villa St. Francis for having us and making us feel comfortable here.”
