< Sister
Stories
 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.
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