2011 White Mass to Recognize Four for Compassionate Care

Annual White Mass to Recognize Four for Compassionate Care

October 20, 2011, Worcester, Mass.—On Thursday, October 20 at 7:00 p.m. the Diocese of Worcester will hold the Fourteenth Annual White Mass at the Chapel of Our Lady of Providence, St. Vincent Hospital, 123 Summer Street, Worcester. The public is invited to participate in prayer for those who work in healthcare and its related fields. Following the Mass, the St. Vincent Healthcare Grants totaling $66,644 will be awarded at a reception in the Atrium at St. Vincent Hospital.

Most Rev. Robert McManus, S.T.D., Bishop of Worcester, will be principal celebrant and Very Rev. Myles Sheehan, S.J., MD, provincial for the New England Province of the Society of Jesus, will be homilist. At the conclusion of the Mass, the Annual Awards in honor of St. Luke will be presented on behalf of the Diocese of Worcester and the Saint Luke Society. Recipients include Robert Giasi, MD, an anesthesiologist for many years at UMASS Medical School and Hospital, who has volunteered his services at the St. Ann Free Clinic and in medical clinics in Haiti; Ann Connolly, N.P., who was a palliative care nurse at UMASS Hospital and who has made a difference for adults in intensive care as coordinator for the Communications Subcommittee of the Critical Care Communications Committee; John Burque, an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion from St. Joseph Parish in Charlton, who is a dedicated volunteer bringing comfort and healing to those who are ill in the Charlton and Southbridge areas, in particular at Harrington Hospital; and Rev. Msgr. Peter R. Beaulieu, STL, director of Mission at St. Vincent Hospital, for his many years of assistance to the Catholic dioceses of Massachusetts on issues involving medical ethics and his decades of compassion service in pastoral care at St. Vincent Hospital and previously at Memorial Hospital.

Following Mass, the annual St. Vincent Healthcare grants will be distributed at a reception in the Atrium at St. Vincent Hospital.
The St. Vincent Healthcare Fund was announced in June 1998 and was started with $1.6 million which had been raised by the St. Vincent Development Foundation prior to the sale of the St. Vincent Hospital to OrNda Healthcorp in 1996. At that time the Foundation ceased its operation. During the oversight process by the Attorney General’s Office, it was determined that the funds that had been raised by the Foundation would be given to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester to support health care programs and services in the community. Some of these funds were restricted to certain areas of use and, as such, grants are awarded in accordance with the original wishes of the donors and in accordance with the original mission of the Foundation, namely to provide financial and other assistance to nonprofit health care organizations to promote the scientific, literary, educational, public health, public safety or civic purposes of such entities for the direct benefit of the residents of Worcester County; to work for the development of medical and health services by supporting and strengthening the services provided by nonprofit health care providers which provide services to Worcester County residents; to support nonprofit organizations which provide for the medical and other health care needs of residents of Worcester County; and to provide for the needs of Worcester County residents through the purchase of medical and other health care services or supplies.

Thirty-four grants totaling $66,644 will be awarded to the following: Problem Pregnancy - Ultrasound Testing: : $2,000; RSVP Worcester Area Volunteers - Holiday Eating for Diabetics: $500; Catholic Charities – Children’s Angel: $500; Catholic Charities – Special Health & Nutritional Needs Program: $1,000; Dismas House – Restorative Healthcare Initiative: $2,500; Radius Healthcare Center- Alzheimers Educational Expo: $1,000; Mary, Queen of the Rosary – Family Wellness Program: $1,500; St. Mary Healthcare – Music Therapy: $1,000; St. Mary School, Worcester – School Nurse Program: $2,500; Pernet Family Health Services – Maternal Child Home Visits: $4,000; Alzheimer’s Association – Connecting Caregivers Helpline: $1,300.

Community Healthlink – Emergency Health Care: $1,500; Nazareth Home for Boys – Professional Nursing Services: $2,400; Worcester Division of Elders – Senior Center Podiatry Clinic: $1,500; Auburn Council on Aging – Rides for Health: $1,200; Visitation House – Staff Training/Resident Life Skills: $2,000; SPRED – Motorized Chair Lift: $750; Catholic Charities – Providing Peace of Mind & Hope Program: $1,000; Ministry for Retired Priests – Healthcare Assistance: $3,500; Southeast Asian Coalition – Health Education Workshops: $2,000; Spanish American Center– Health Talks: $1,000; YWCA – Encore After Breast Cancer: $1,000; Spectrum Health Systems – Behavioral Health Integration Project: $1,729; Catholic Restoration Apostolate with St. Vincent Hospital Center for Women & Infants – Infant Car Seat Program: $1,000.

VNA – Elder Health Clinics: $1,500; Diocesan Healing & Prevention Office– Safe Environment Program: $1,000; Children’s Friend, Inc. – Carriage House Grief Support Center: $1,500; Alternatives Unlimited, Inc. – Adaptive Equipment Solutions: $1,500; Auburn VNA – Adult Day Program: $550; St. Anne Free Medical Program $5,000 plus supplemental grant: $4,000; Catholic Restoration Apostolate with St. Vincent Hospital Maternity Dept.– Breast Pump Program: $1,500; St. John Parish – Free Clinic: $750; Veterans, Inc.: $2,000; Our Lady of the Angels School – Health Office: $2,500.
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