April 9 - Visit to Berea

Above: The team paused to enjoy the sunshine outside St. Joseph Hospital - Berea. L-r: Fr. Gerry, Flora, Mark and Cordell.

The team was looking at a shorter jaunt - only about 40 miles - for the last day of fact-finding, so we took a little time in the morning to spread out the map once again, recap some of the information we’d collected, and assign some action items for the next steps, including:

*Compile a list of attendees from the kick off meeting and also a list of people we met at health care locations while we were on the road.

*Prepare an information sheet for the MMDM’s to use to generate interest and enthusiasm for a medical mission in the Diocese of Lexington.

*Continue to contact potential collaborators

*Check out possible funding strategies, including grants and sponsorships

*Set mid-November as the date for the MMDM's next visit to Lexington, with an eye for setting a date for the medical mission!

Clearly, there is a LOT of work to do. But the immediate task at hand was to head south to visit St. Joseph -Berea.

Flora Washburn, Mission Leader and Chaplain for St. Joseph Hospital in Berea (as well as Mt. Sterling), met us at the door. On the way to the conference room, she pointed out the local artwork throughout the building, part of St. Joseph's initiative to spotlight the unique heritage and culture of the Berea community. In fact, the hospital was holding a dedication ceremony that evening, with Fr. Frank Brawner of St. Clare Parish in Berea coming to bless the new art installations. Sitting down for our meeting, Flora introduced us to Gerg Gerard, President-CEO along with Elena Baker, Education Coordinator, and Katie Heckman, Community Relations.

St. Joseph Berea serves roughly a six-county area, with much of their service area in the beautiful but rugged Daniel Boone National Forest. Again, chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, hyerptenson, COPD, etc. are very prominent througout the service area. Like the other hospitals we had visited, St. Joseph Berea carries a high percentage of charity cases. Berea Health Ministries now operates on the hospital campus and offers access to primary health care services on a sliding scale. Unfortunately, there is a long, long waiting list for an appointment, and many people essentially use the emergency room as their basic health care service.

The MMDM's reviewed prior medical mission experience and discussed what kind of sites might be set up in this area. The hospital team felt the model could work in the area, and offered some ideas for working with community health centers in the area.

Flora took us to lunch, and we talked some more about some of the special challenges of providing a spectrum of health care, including wellness care. Flora also noted the significance of having a strong Catholic identity melded into the medical mission's activities. St. Joseph Hospital is a fairly new entity in Berea (previously, the building had housed Berea Community Hospital), and this medical mission offers another opportunity to demonstrate the Catholic model of care for not just the body, but the spirit and mind as well.

After lunch, we had time for a quick stroll around Berea College, which was founded in 1855 on the principle of equal opportunity for all. Berea College admitted students of all races as well as both male and female students - very radical at the time! Today, the college offers all students a full tuition scholarship in exchange for their participation in the college's extensive work program. It's a very beautiful place, and we were fortunate to be out and about on such a lovely day, with the redbuds in full bloom all around us.

Then it was time for the fact-finders to head back to the great state of Texas. It was a great visit, and we all learned a lot. Best wishes to the Medical Missionaries of Divine Mercy as they prepare for their return to Laredo in the fall of 2010 for a medical mission. We look forward to seeing the team in mid-November for another round of planning this great effort to serve as Christ would have us serve!