The publication is reproduced in full below:
CELEBRATING THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR LADY OF PEACE HOSPICE & HOME
HEALTH CARE
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HON. BETTY McCOLLUM
of minnesota
in the house of representatives
Thursday, December 30, 2021
Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the staff, volunteers, patients, and families of Our Lady of Peace Home on its 80th anniversary of service to the Saint Paul community. A non-
profit community hospice and home health care organization offering care at no cost to those in need, Our Lady of Peace has been a beacon of light caring for more than 25,000 people at the end-of-life and their families over the past eight decades.
The Our Lady of Peace legacy in Saint Paul began in 1941 when nine nuns from the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne traveled to Minnesota from New York to open the Our Lady of Good Counsel Home. This was the sixth home established by the nuns, and their focus then was on serving terminally ill cancer patients without means to pay or care for themselves. This service was started by Rose Hawthorne Lathrop who nursed cancer patients in New York City in the late 1800s before founding the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. The hospice home in Saint Paul was the furthest west out of all six homes and took shape during a globally perilous time in history as World War II was waging in Europe. Nevertheless, the grand opening for Our Lady of Good Counsel's home in Saint Paul was set, and they opened their doors on December 7, 1941--a day that would live in infamy for the attack on Pearl Harbor that would launch the United States into the war.
From that day onward, the sisters and other volunteers at the home have provided compassionate care for terminally ill patients while bringing comfort and support to their loved ones. Though the modern practice of hospice care was not introduced until the late 1960's, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne had been quietly providing hospice care for decades. Throughout those first few decades of service, Our Lady of Good Counsel depended entirely on donations of goods, money, time, and service, and they never accepted payment from patients, families, insurance companies or the government. Today they still rely heavily on volunteers and donations to cover any costs not covered by Medicare payments in order to ensure a free service to patients and families. In 1980 they were able to replace the old Tri-State Telephone Company building in which they were founded with a brand-new building. The new building included a chapel, central courtyard with gardens and a fountain, and two floors for patient rooms; expanding their capacity to the twenty-one beds that remain today.
The turn of the century marked a period of expansion and transition for the organization. In the early 2000's they introduced an official hospice program which allowed them to provide end-of-life care outside of their residential facility and serve people in their homes throughout the entire 7-county metro area in Minnesota. They also established the Home Health Care program which provides in-home help with daily living, post-operative care and other therapies. They are also affiliated with the Highland Block Nurse Program which is funded in part by Title III of the Older Americans Act and provides a variety of services for older adults and their caregivers in the Highland Park neighborhood in St. Paul. In 2009 the operation of the home was transitioned to the St. Paul-based Franciscan Health Community, and two years later the home was officially renamed ``Our Lady of Peace.''
Led by President & CEO Joe Stanislav, Our Lady of Peace is served today by four Franciscan Clarist nuns and employs over 130 workers including chaplains, social workers, nurses and a full-time physician. And despite their ties to the church as a Catholic non-profit organization they serve patients from all religious or non-religious backgrounds and walks of life. For 80 years they have upheld their mission to gently comfort and care for those most in need near the end of their lives, wherever they call home, regardless of means. Madam Speaker, please join me in recognizing Our Lady of Peace's benevolent and dedicated staff and volunteers--as well as the patients and families they serve--on their 80th anniversary of service.
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SOURCE: HOME HEALTH CARE
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