Sister Maryann Shanahan

Recently, Sister Maryann Shanahan bent to greet a senior citizen watching morning television. With clip board in hand, she asked the CHRISTUS St. Mary Hospital patient if she had had her bath ... if her food was fine ... if there was anything she could do to make her stay better ... if she'd like to pray. The patient did want to pray.

After the prayer, the two chatted more.

"I'm so glad to see you sitting up in the chair," Sister Maryann said in a soothing Irish lilt. "I hope you do very well with your rehab."

The exchange marked one of countless interactions she makes daily as Patient Advocate.

Sister Maryann and the other Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in ministry at the Port Arthur hospital handle a variety of duties from administrative to spiritual care.

"No two days are the same. It depends on what I encounter," said the Sister who bounds up staircases in her neat navy blue habit.

Every few steps she gets a "Hello, Sister" from doctors, staffers and patients. The quiet woman from County Kerry, Ireland, seems to emit a calm sense of confidence. Folks seem to stand up a little straighter as she passes.

"Because I am a Sister, I guess I take on a little extra," she said. "My favorite part of my job is helping people who need help. I love to point people to a resource." This could include guiding them to agencies, such as United Board of Missions, that can help with bills and prescriptions. Even if patients are not Catholic, they often ask for her thoughts as they are prepared for surgery.

"For the most part, people are very anxious for prayer at a time like that. It's so great when you see a whole family praying around a bed," she said.