Mary Ann Collins

Text version of Mary Ann Collins' keynote remarks

Good morning. I am Mary Ann Collins, director of Mission and of the Footprints Program for SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center.
Last summer, Cardinal Glennon had its 50th Birthday and allowed us the privilege of gathering with a number of groups to celebrate.  One group in particular stood apart from all the rest. That group was our Franciscan Sisters of Mary.

The Sisters were invited to join us for a special Mass in their honor to be followed by lunch in our beautiful atrium.  About 40 women were able to be with us, some of whom had graced the halls and the heart of Glennon as staff members and others who were part of our heart and spirit through the prayers they offer for our Ministry, our children, their families and our staff.

Some of my colleagues and I had prepared a musical blessing for the Sisters, and as I walked to the microphone to introduce that blessing, I was touched to my very core.  As I looked at these women, I saw countless years of service, commitment, dedication, compassion and caring…countless years of a deep desire to bring God’s healing presence to all of us!  I saw simplicity and joy in the life they have given to their ministries.  And in that moment, I experienced a new realization of what I have known and try to share in my orientation of new staff, and that is, that if our Mission is to continue, if we are to deliver care the way the Sisters do, I need to make a conscious choice each and every day to share my heart and soul as I deliver care, because it is in that heart and soul that others will experience the compassion of God.

This is the gift that characterized the Sisters.  They didn’t come with armloads of degrees and technology…they came with a deep passion to bring God’s healing to the people they served.  I realized anew that I need to be “present” as they were -- in every encounter I have during the course of my day, when I am listening, when I ask what I can do for someone – be they patient, family member or co-worker -- because it is in that presence that others will experience our Values. 

The Sisters often had only their presence to offer.  I am certain that as our original five women went through the streets knocking on doors, they didn’t know who was behind the door, but greeted all as though they were the most important person. And of course, they were able to share whatever material things they had gathered in their baskets, but most of all, they gave their precious gift of self. 

And so, again I became aware as I looked at the women before me , that the true gift of healing in our workplaces is my willingness to share not just my skill or expertise in a particular area, but my person; to give of myself as they did.   I need to care enough to make a difference to every person I meet.   I need to recognize that every person is a reflection of the Face of God!   In turn, if I am to deliver exceptional care, I must honor and respect the God I see before me, in that moment.  And if I don’t, nothing else much matters because I will not have been respectful enough, I will not have been compassionate enough, and I will not have cared enough to share the healing presence of God that is within me.