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The story of our Health Services at Holy
Rosary/Santo Rosario Church is one of remarkable
"CONNECTIONS". In October 2001, Barbara Dickie,
Executive Director for St. Mary's Health Clinics and Sister Martha
Wiegand, O.P., Executive Director of Educational Programs and
Human Services at Holy Rosary held a series of planning meetings
along with representatives from various educational programs and
human service programs from Centro Guadalupano. A survey of health
needs was also done at this time with our Latino community who
numbers over twelve hundred.
A VITAL CONNECTION happened
when the Minnesota Department of Health's Office of Minority and
Multicultural Health designated St. Mary's Health Clinic as a
recipient of a sizable grant to address diabetes and breast and
cervical cancer in the Hispanic community. Our parish in the metro
area was a natural avenue for patients to receive information and
health care. Through SMHC Cristina Flood Urdangarin was hired to
work at Holy Rosary and three other Latino churches.
A
WELCOMING CONNECTION occurred as hundreds of immigrant families
from Mexico, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Argentina, Ethiopia,
Somali and Vietnam began to access our Health Resource Center.
The immigrant women and men visited our site expressing the
following concerns: lack of financial resources and insurance, a
need to have help with interpreting medical forms, and chronic
problems with diabetes. They identified the need to access
dental care, to know more about nutrition in general and to have a
primary doctor.
Through the many Health Education opportunities,
there have been ABUNDANT CONNECTIONS with health resources
which have been made available. Cristina has offered classes
in preventative health issues: breast and cervical cancer. She has
taught classes focused on diabetes, asthma, and nutrition as well
as showed our families how to access health clinics. The
Health Resource Center and the Health Fair continue to be
wonderful opportunities for our immigrant families to learn more
about health issues as they relate to the lives in
Minneapolis.
We find more and more that there are
LIFE-SAVING CONNECTIONS by the referrals Cristina makes to St.
Mary's Health Clinic and/or to other neighboring Health Clinics.
Our Coordinadora de Salud makes hundreds of referrals to clinics;
she has set up a time for our people to have their blood pressure
taken, to be checked for diabetes, and to receive a flu shot.
Cristina meets the folks were they are: attending ESL Classes or
the Mom's Support Group, coming for bread or clothing, or making
applications for furniture. She's available when people come
for Adult Education Classes or when the Youth Group meets.
Being present to the patients after a large Sunday Liturgy
is as important to our people and to Cristina as it is be
available on days when we have hundreds coming for outreach. At
times like this, Cristina gathers other volunteer nurses to help.
Our Health Program also has STRONG AND VIBRANT CONNECTIONS
with the ESL Program. The ESL staff in partnership with The
Minnesota Literacy Council is in process of designing a new
curriculum particular to our site. The focus of the curriculum in
on Employment, Health, and Housing. Students from the pre-literacy
level through the advanced levels learn health care issues like
these: How to call 911, learning body parts, describing what hurts
and how to answer the doctor's questions. They learn about
symptoms, ailments and injuries. The students are taught how
to read labels and follow directions on medicine bottles. They
learn how to fill our medical and insurance forms.
We couldn't describe our Health Program without
sharing with you the BLESSED CONNECTIONS we experience through the
gratitude of the patients. Comments such as the following give us
a sense of the importance and value of our program:
"You've saved my life!"
"I don't know
what I would have done without you!"
"I like to come
here. I really trust you. You are kind and helpful."
"You
find help for me and I don't have to run from place to place for
help."
The HEART-FELT CONNECTION of the nurse provides
the realization that not only are the patients helped with their
health issues, but there is a linking of hearts, a bonding deeper
than the surface. She shares with us:
"It's such a good and worthwhile feeling to be able
to help our people."
"If their life is made better
through health care or information, so is mine.!"
"Again
and again, I discover that our Latino brothers and sisters receive
health care from the community, but they also give back to the
community in so many ways"
"Their presence
makes me realize my own blessing and just how much we are called
to help each other."
Our logo says it so well, "At
the heart of ministry is relationship."
Lastly, our
HOPE-FILLED CONNECTIONS into the future are based on the dozens
and dozens of new immigrants who come to our door each day seeking
various kinds of medical help. Centro Guadalupano at Holy
Rosary/Santo Rosario is committed to continue our conversation
with St. Mary's Health Clinic and to make every effort to sustain
our partnership with them into the future. We realize that perhaps
adding some evening hours to our schedule would be convenient for
people who work all day. We also want to be in dialogue with other
health care providers whose vision, along with our dream and felt
need, would make a good match, A LIFE-GIVING
CONNECTION!
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