Mission partners share in the spirit of improving well-being and making care better.
Whether you are rehabbing a bum knee, getting a flu shot or seeing a specialist, you’re not likely to end the visit without being handed a piece of paper—or several. If you’re in any Peoria-area OSF HealthCare facility, you also might be handed a colorful little card that has a word meant to inspire you, and a scripture to match.
Sharing Cards
Feeling down? The mission partner setting up your follow-up visit at the new OSF HealthCare Center for Health – Pekin might offer you “Comfort” with words from Psalm 22: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
Shared a funny story with the person who checked you in at OSF PromptCare? You might be handed a card for “Laughter,” which reminds you, “A joyful heart is good medicine,” from Proverbs. Other cards feature “Faith,” Courage,” “Hope,” “Strength,” “Compassion” and of course, “Love.”
These sharing cards are a small part of work which began about two years ago. The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, realizing how many employees there are at OSF HealthCare, wanted to better equip all of them to understand their role, says Sister Judith Ann Duvall, chairperson, OSF HealthCare.
Employees became “mission partners.” The Sisters have long encouraged mission partners to learn and embrace the mission: serving with the greatest care and love. They also began talking more about how mission partners serve: in the spirit of Christ. And the Sisters realized the essential ingredient at OSF HealthCare is embodied in the word “sharing.” “Sharing is about using the incredible God-given talents of our 19,000 mission partners,” Sister Judith Ann explains, “to help our patients and communities live fuller, healthier lives.”
What OSF HealthCare shares isn’t limited to improving the physical and spiritual health of patients. The organization is committed to sharing advancements in healthcare through the work of OSF Innovation. Those advancements don’t just help patients in and around Peoria, but throughout the country.
Coordinated Changes
In addition, OSF HealthCare is making changes so that patients and the communities it serves understand the coordinated care it offers as a large, integrated system. HeartCare Midwest, which has been in the OSF HealthCare family for years, now has a new name, along with all OSF cardiovascular practices. The “OSF HealthCare Cardiovascular Institute” sign went up at the building on Knoxville Avenue in Peoria in early August.
Children’s Hospital of Illinois has become OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois. The medical centers also received a slight name change. OSF Saint Francis Medical Center is now OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center. This summer marked the 140th anniversary of when OSF HealthCare was founded in Peoria. The founding Sisters shared a faith that God was calling them to serve in the spirit of Christ with the greatest care and love. “Today, every time we help patients improve our communities’ well-being or use innovation to make care better, we are sharing that exact same spirit, that same love,” Sister Judith Ann adds. iBi
To learn more, visit osfhealthcare.org/sharing.
