Sister Kathleen Laverty, just one of the amazing nurses at St. Amthony Medical Clinic

This week is National Nurses Week, which gives us all a chance to honor and appreciate nurses for everything they do to keep us calm in times of crisis, to help us set meaningful health goals and to improve the quality of care for everyone. To do my part to celebrate their work, I am writing profiles of each of our Clinic nurses. Today will be the first installment in this series, and Sister Kathleen is the brave soul who was willing to go first. She told me so many amazing stories, I regret I cannot present them all in their totality here.

What drew you to nursing?

“As a child I knew that I wanted to live a religious life, but after being in hospital at age seven in Ireland, that experience made me want to become a nurse (a medical missionary, really). I was at an age when I still believed in the tooth fairy, and after I lost a tooth, the nurses put a sixpence under my pillow. It was a little thing, but it affected me somehow. They were real people who had the privilege of being put into a position of alleviating the suffering of others. That struck me and stayed with me, both how they treated me and how I saw them treat others.”

What do you enjoy about working with the patients at St. Anthony Medical Clinic?

“I love the way I have a chance to get to know many of them and follow them over the years. I love to hear them call to me from across the room or the street, excited to see me. Secondly, I am thrilled and amazed at the great ethnic diversity and internationality of our patients.”

 Sr. told me about a woman who called out to her on the street, having recognized her from the Clinic. She was in a desperate state, lying on the sidewalk and vomiting on herself. Someone had already called an ambulance, so Sister Kathleen decided to stay with her until they came.

 “When the ambulance showed up I could tell that my presence made a difference in how they treated her. One of them was visibly reluctant and pulling away from her, but I think seeing a nun with her contextualized the situation and served as a reminder of how she should be treated, that she should be treated with dignity and respect.”

 Sister Kathleen’s presence reminded the EMT workers of this woman’s humanity .

“It’s a tremendous privilege to be with someone when they are suffering and desperate like that, to offer comfort when they might feel the most alone. I take great comfort in doing my small piece interrupting the cycle of poverty, and it gives me a great sense of connection, even little things like making eye contact, saying hello.”

How has nursing impacted your life and how do you hope to impact the lives of others?

“Next to becoming a Vowed member of a religious community, it has had the most impact of any choice I have made in my life. Nursing has brought me to England, Ireland, Wales, El Salvador, and Zambia as well as Sacramento, Oakland and San Francisco. It has opened my eyes to the human condition and given me a privileged place during important life experiences of people.”

I asked her for an example of such an experience that stands out. She told me about a woman in Zambia who suffered terrible complications during childbirth; her uterus had ruptured and the child died. After learning that the woman also had AIDS, they did not expect her to survive the incredible strain the whole ordeal put on her body. Sister Kathleen wanted to do whatever she could for this woman to give her peace and comfort. The woman asked only to see her children, but as they lived 90 km away Sister had to quickly arrange for use of the ambulance and the assistance of some volunteer nurses.

Not expecting her to survive the trip, but eager to address her last wish, they drove the woman 90 km in the ambulance to her home. Amazingly she made it in time to see her children, and, having been a schoolteacher, she insisted on inspecting their workbooks. More amazingly, she didn’t die. She recovered, and Sister Kathleen would periodically receive reports of her progress from the other women who came to the maternity hospital. One day the woman appeared with a huge sack on her head, and said, “Sister, I’ve brought you Irish potatoes!” She seemed entirely healed. I asked Sister what this story meant to her.

 “I had always thought of my work in a very procedural way. I was always doing something: I was drawing blood, or removing stitches, or dressing a wound. In this instance this woman was healed not by something medical I could do for her, but by being with her and by ensuring the presence of other caring people, by being with her loved ones.”

Sister Kathleen also explained how this has informed her work at St. Anthony Medical Clinic, and has been something she has returned to again and again.

 “So many of our patients have endured horrible hardships and although they are maybe past the most dramatic parts of that journey, they still face incredible loneliness and isolation. For many of them the Clinic is a place they can come to and return to for assistance, for camaraderie or just a familiar and friendly face. People don’t often think of it this way, but loneliness can have incredibly negative impacts on people’s health.”

Sister Kathleen particularly emphasized that she enjoys being part of a team, and working with the patient to improve all aspects of the patient’s health. We are all incredibly fortunate to be able to count generous, thoughtful people like Sister Kathleen as part of our team.

 

Each day in the Dining Room the social workers see a lot of people! During these two hours, they manage to connect with about 10% of our regular ongoing social work center clients. Being in the Dining Room allows them to follow up on an issue they had talked about previously with a client, or just exchange a friendly hello–securing and maintaining that ever important trusting relationship that is rooted in our St. Anthony values. They also continue to develop new connections. For some guests, it does not take much interaction to decide to meet with a social worker on an ongoing basis to address their needs and they follow up quickly. For others however, it can take many interactions to grow that trusting relationship that exists within our services. So far this year about 20% of the connections staff have made in the Dining Room have led to further social work services, allowing people access to services they need that will in turn increase or help them maintain their stability. As we continue to work and track these connections, our hope is to learn how to engage and improve our services for all guests who visit the St. Anthony Dining Room.

That is just what brother and sister, Geremy and Genine decided to do!  Years ago, Geremy and Genine came to volunteer with their Justice Education class from St. Ignatius College Preparatory.  After their positive volunteer experience and Genine’s subsequent internship, St. Anthony Foundation quickly became one of their favorite local organizations.

This year as Geremy and Genine put on their graduation caps and gowns, they are encouraging invitees to their graduation celebration to consider making a gift in their honor to St. Anthony’s New Dining Room campaign. By sharing these gifts, Geremy and Genine are helping others reclaim their sense of dignity and respect.

For more information on how you too can celebrate your special day and give back to the community, please contact Jaime Kim at (415) 592-2707 or jkim@stanthonysf.org.

Congratulations Geremy and Genine, Class of 2012!

Read more about this wonderful group here.

Guests, staff, residents and alumni alike all stood up to say a few moving words about the graduates and recovery in general.  Finally the graduates themselves were given a chance to tell us about their experiences.

Our graduates spend an entire year with us.  In that time we get to see them grow, not only in their recovery, but as human beings.  Some of the graduates are staying on in our Extension Program, which is designed to allow, those who need it, the opportunity to save extra money or find suitable residence.       

After the graduation ceremony, everybody present was invited to stay for dinner.  The menu this month was: fried chicken, maple cornbread, blackeyed peas, swiss chard, and red velvet cake, cheesecake, or ice cream sandwiches for dessert.

The meal was met with great appreciation from those who stayed.  All in all it was a great success.

St. Anthony’s owes a debt of gratitude to the venerable San Francisco Giants and pitcher Barry Zito for stepping up to the plate to help build The New St. Anthony’s Dining Room at critical time for the agency.  President and CEO Larry Baer organized a Home Plate ceremony, along with the debut of a 30 second public service message from Barry Zito, to invite supporters in San Francisco and all around the Bay Area to be part of the miracle on Jones Street — a civic anchor that has served over 38 million meals to the hungry in San Francisco since 1950.  As the clock ticks on a summer deadline to raise the final $4 million for this project, the Giants have gone to bat for St. Anthony’s as they work to break ground on a new Dining Room in September 2012.

The momentous evening made clear the critical impact St. Anthony’s has on the city of San Francisco, an impact that is as important today as it was over 60 years ago when Fr. Alfred Boeddeker served the first meals in the St. Anthony Dining Room.

St. Francis once said, “Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”  For information on how you can be part of this once-in-a-lifetime project and make possible The New St. Anthony’s Dining Room, visit our website or text the word BUILDING to 50555 to make a $10 donation.

The workshop is held once a month in a Tech Lab classroom, where each guest can work at a computer, and is jointly taught by Sarah from the Social Work Center and Tammy from the Tech Lab. The next housing workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 29^th, and should once again provide an example of innovative collaboration in action.

The sight of a large group from St. Anthony’s at a Giants game, clad in our trademark teal t-shirts with our Giants black and orange is quite a sight to behold.  For Victor, a churro vendor who was working our section in the bleachers, we were a welcome reminder of an organization that helped him through a tough time in his life.  As soon as Victor saw us, he said, “Hey St. Anthony’s!  I love St. Anthony’s!  You guys saved my life!”

Victor had come to the drop-in hours at our Social Work Center, where he was able to get information about other services that could help him get back on his feet. He also ate in our Dining Room and received clothing from our Free Clothing Program.  It was great to see that Victor was back on his feet and happy, with a wonderful job at AT&T park, home of the 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants!

Every time we saw Victor that night, we gave him a big round of applause and he gave us an “I love you guys”.

Our interaction with Victor reminded me of what San Francisco Giants President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer said at our capital campaign kickoff: “the most important intersection in San Francisco is Golden Gate and Jones”.  For Victor, I think that Golden Gate and Jones may just tie with 3rd and King as two of the most important intersections in town.  It’s really true: Together we are Giant!