Newspaper Page Text
J
Published by the
Catholic Lay
men’s Association
of Georgia
“To Bring About
a Friendlier
Feeling Among
Neighbors Irre
spective of Creed”
Vol. XXVIII, No. 7 TWENTY-EIGHT PAGES AUGUSTA, GEORIGA, JULY 26, 1947 ISSUED MONTHLY—$2.00 A YEAR
Annual Report of Sisters of Mercy
Conducting St. Mary’s Home, Savannah
NEW ADDITION TO HOSPITAL IN ATHENS—Shown above, to the right, is the new four-story
addition, of brick, tile and steel construction, that is nearing completion at St. Mary's Hospital, conducted
by the Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Athens, Georgia. The new addition
connects with an addition made in 1941 to the original building in which the Sisters established their
hospital in 1938. The new annex will provide additional space for patients’ rooms and wards, the ob
stetrical department, operating rooms, X-ray laboratory, quarters for the resident physician, dining
rooms and a new kitchen, and will have an elevator in addition to the one now in the original build
ing. Plans for the new addition were executed by Homer Nicholson, Athens architect, and the Mathis
Construction Company are the builders.—(Photo b y Class Art Studio.)
New Additions to St. Mary’s Hospital in
Athens, Rapidly Nearing Completion
SAVANNAH, Ga.—At the an
nual meeting of the Female Or
phan Benevolent Society, the
following report was submitted
by the Sisters of Mercy who con
duct St. Mary’s Home:
During the past year, St. Mary's
Home has cared for sixty-four chil
dren. Fourteen new children hav
ing been added to the number
cared for at the home, and seven
teen children having been return
ed to their own homes.
Among the number leaving St.
Mqry’s was one high school student
who had received a course in prac
tical nursing at St. Joseph’s Hos
pital. and who is now employed in
the City Hospital at Binghamton,
N. Y.
In the course of the past: twelve
months, all of the children at the
home have received dental care,
have been examined by eye, ear,
nose and throat specialists, have
been regularly visited by the
school nurse, who vaccinated the
children and inoculated them
against typhoid and whooping
cough. Three of the children had
tonsils removed during the year
and eleven of the 'children con
tracted measles this spring. These
were cared for in an isolation
ward of-the inf irmary at the home,
and there were no complications.
The general health of the children
has been excellent.
Five of the little girls at the
home received their first Holy
Communion during the year, and
six were confirmed. All children of
school age attend daily Mass at the
chapel of the home. The Rosary is
recited each day for the intention
of our beloved Bishop O'Hara.
Some of the children have sung
over the radio on the local Sunday
morning Catholic program. They
(Speieal to The Bulletin)
SAVANNAH, Ga.—The anunal
meeting of the Female Orphan
Benevolent Society, which, under
the auspices of the Sisters of Mer
cy, conducts St. Mary’s Home here,
was held at the home, and reports
were received from the various of
ficers of the society and from Sis
ter Amabilis, R. S. M., Superior of
the home.
His Excellency the Most Rev.
Gerald P. O'Hara, D. D., J. U. D.,
Bishop of Savannah-Atlanta, was
re-elected president of the so
ciety; John W. Gleason. IC. S. G.,
was re-elected vice-president and
treasurer, and Monsignor T. James
McNamara was rc-elected secre
tary.
E. George Butler, John M. Bren
nan, W. J. Bremer, Hugh II. Grady,
James H. McKenna, Peter Roe
Nugent, Charles F. Powers, W. H.
Sexton and Elton E. Wright were
re-elected as members of the Ad
visory Board.
Three new members, Dr. W. B.
Crawford. Walter B. Murphy and
M. C. McCarthy, were added to
the Advisory Board.
Bulletins
ONE OF THE SPEAKERS at
the annual convention of the
Catholic Press Association, held in
St. Paul, in May, Lieutenant
General J. Lawton Collins, will
take over as Chief of Stall' in the
War Department on September 1.
General Collins, now Chief of In
formation in the War Department,
is a member of St. Stephen’s
parish in Wasliintgon, D. ('.
A CONTRIBUTION of $1,000
has been made to the 1947 United
Jewish Appeal of Greater New
York by His Eminence Francis
Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of
New York. In a letter accompany
ing his gift. Cardinal Spellman
wrote; “Charity is the one bond
that can help Americans to be
united and can help also to heal
the world from (he diseases of
body and mind that threaten its
civilised life.’’
also sang at the services during
Holy Week at the Chui^h of the
Nativity of Our Lord. All the chil
dren participated in (he May Pro
cession, the youngest child in the
First Communion class being se
lected to place the floral crown on
the statue of the Blessed Mother.
Willi the beginning of the school
year in September, arrangements
were made for girls in the eighth
grade to attend the Blessed Sac
rament School. Three of the girls
from St. Mary’s attended classes
there this year and the arrange
ment proved very satisfactory.
Any child with particular apti
tude or talent has been given pi
ano lessons and vocal musical
training. All of the children have
dancing lessons once a week.
Social activity and forms of
amusement have been afforded
the children at picnics, wiener
roasts, motion pictures, swimming,
plays and other entertainments.
During the summer months the
children go frequently to Camp
Villa Marie for swimming. They
also go to Wilmington Island and
Tybee occasionally. The children
were invited to and attended va
rious entertainments given by lo
cal organizations. In addition, the
children have their own parties
and plays at the home, in keeping
with the seasons and holidays.
Moving pictures, suitable for chil
dren have been shown in the home
auditorium once or twice a month.
The social, as well as the spiritual
and educational life of the children
is well provided for at St. Mary's
Home.
The management is grateful to
the numberless benefactors who
have helped to make the past year
such a profitable and happy one
for the children at St. Mary’s.
. SISTER M. AMABILIS, R. S. M.,
Superior.
BISHOP GERALD O’HARA
ORGANIZING CATHOLIC
RELIEF IN ROMANIA
(By Religious News Service)
ROME.—The Most Rev. Gerald
P. OUIara, Bishop of Savannah-
Atlanta, now serving as Regent of
the Papal Nunciature in Bucharest,
lias sent a circular letter to all j
Catholic Bishogs in Romania urg-'
ing them to organize branches of
Caritas, Catholic welfare agency,
in their Dioceses, according to a
report here.
Purpose of the Diocesan
branches, Bishop O’Hara stated,
will be to facilitate the distribu
tion of foodstuffs, clothing and
other goods sent for the relief of
Romania needy by the Papal Re
lief Commission and War Relief
Services of the National Catholic
Welfare Conference in the United
States.
Relief distribution by the Ameri
can agency began last April with
the arrival in Bucharest of Thomas
J. Fox, of Brooklyn, who directs
activities in Austria., Hungary ai d
Romania. It is estimated that 4,-
000,000 Romanians are in acute
need as a result of recent drought
conditions.
THE FEAST of Blessed Oliver
Piunket, Archbishop of Armagh
and Primate of All Ireland, who
was hanged, drawn and quartered
at Tyburn prison in England oil
July 11, 1081, was solemnly observ
ed throughout Eire. In accordance
with instructions of the Irjsh
Hierarchy, special devotions and
sermons were offered to stimulate
among the faithful enthusiasm for
the cause of canonization of the
Martyr Primate.
MONSIGNOR JOHN O’GItADY,
secretary of the National Confer
ence of Catholic Charities, ar
rived at Vatican City by airplane
to confer with officials of the
Pontifical Emigration Office on
plans for Vatican assistance in the
emigration of Displaced Persons
to South America.
(Special to The Bulletin)
ATHENS, Ga.—Rapidly nearing
completion, and already partly in
use, the latest addition to St.
Mary’s Hospital in Athens will en
able tiie Missionary Sisters of the
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, who
have conducted the hospital since
July, 1938, to expand their tender
labors of mercy and healing in a
modern, well-equipped structure,
which will now be practically a
one-hundred-bed hospital.
The new addition, which will
connect with the four-story St.
Joseph’s Hall wing, erected in
1941, is constructed of brick and
hollow-tile on a steel framework.
Three floors are above and one
below the level of the inner court
yard.
Homer Nicholson, of Athens, is
the architect, and the Mathis Con
struction Company are the build
ers, with A. G. Hargrove super
vising the construction.
The top floor of the addition
will house the obstetrical depart
ment. with delivery and a nursery
which will be equipped with an in
cubator. There will also be an
isolation nursery.
New operating rooms, two for
major and one for minor opera
tions, will also be on this floor.
Latest developments in operating
room equipment and lighting will
be provided in the operating
rooms, the walls and floors of
which have been finished in white
tile.
Surgeons’ dressing rooms, a cen
tral supply room, a fracture room,
the X-ray department, with filing,
dark and reading rooms, a loung
ing room for physicians, and quart
ers for the resident surgeon will
also be on this floor in the new
wing.
In addition there will be a visi
tors’ reception room, a laboratory
and blood bank, a sterilization
room and a base metabolism room.
The second floor of the new
addition will offer private and
semi-private rooms and wards for
surgical and medical patients, a
dispensary, a diet kitchen, a utility
room and the children’s ward.
The annex also will provide ad
ditional space for the accomoda
tion of Colored patients.
Offices and administration de
partment will be on the first floor,
with some accomodations for
patients.
The present X-ray department
in the basement will be converted
into a laundry and linen room,
and the present storage room will
be made over as a sewing room.
Two oil-burning furnaces, which
will supply heat and hot water,
are being installed and a new am
bulance reception platform will be
constructed at the rear of the
original building.
The Sisters’ dining room will
now be located in the basement,
at the front of the original build
ing, and the nurses’ dining room,
where meals will be served cafe
teria style, will be in the base
ment of the new addition. There
will also be a dining room for
Colored nurses and other Colored
employes.
A new kitchen is provided for
in the basement of the new wing,
it will offer the latest develop
ments in equipment for the culi
nary department of a hospital,
witli steam tables, a room for tray
assembly, and enlarged refrigera
tion and cold storage rooms.
Sister Wilfrieda, M. S. C„ R. N„
one of the Sisters who came to
Athens in 1938, and who was away
from here for some years, has re
turned as superintendent of the
hospital.
The nursing staff of SI. Mary’s
includes Sister Ludgeris, R. N. A.,
Sister Mirilla, R. N. A., Sister
Helen, R. N. A., Sister Sira, R. N„
Sister Gregory. R. N., Sister Regia,
R. N., Sister Hiltl'ude, R. N.. Sis
ter Theresa, R. N., and Sister
Wedegunda, R. N.
Also on the nursing staff are
Mrs. Ruby Silber, R. N., Mrs.
Pearl Calloway, R. N., Mrs. Dulcy
Moore, R. N., Mrs. Azalec Kellum.
R. N., with a number of nurses’
aides, and, in the Colored depart-j
ment, several practical nurses.
Sister Regia and Miss Edythe
Brooks are the laboratory tech
nicians; Sister Sira is the dietician,
and the X-ray department is under
the direction of Sister Regia, witli
Mrs. Betty Herndon as assistant.
Dr. M. II. Johnston Is the resi
dent physician, with R. M. Gustine,
a medical student, assisting.
Sister Virgilia, Sister Anacleta,
Mrs. Florence Storiher, Mrs. Al-
dine Graham and Mrs. Virginia
Tully compose the office and ad
ministrative staff.
All doctors in the Athens area
are considered as being staff
physicians.
Father J. Robert Brennan, pas
tor of St. Joseph's Church, is the
chaplain of St. Mary’s Hospital.
The Advisory Board of St.
Mary’s Hospital is headed by Dr.
T. H. McHatton, of the Horticul
tural Department of the College
of Agriculture of the University
of Georgia, as chairman, wi'h R.
V. Watterson, president of the
Athena Branch of the Citizens and
Southern National Bank, as vice-
chairman. and Frank Poslero, sec
retary. Other members of the
board are Dr. Harmon W. Cald
well, president of the University
of Georgia, T. J. Camarata, M. F.
Costa, Jacob Bernstein and John
Morris.
In the building which in 1938
became St. Mary’s Hospital, a
private hospital was established
more than thirty years ago by Dr.
J. P. Proctor and Dr. H. M. Fulli-
love, who were joint owners until
death of Dr. Proctor some years
ago. Upon the death of Dr. Proc
tor. Dr. Fullilove became sole own
er and operated the hospital until
his deatii in 1935. It was then
operated for about two years by
the widow of Dr. Proctor.
In the fall of 1937, Bishop Ger
ald P. O’Hara of Savannah-At
lanta, and Father Harold Barr, who
at that time was pastor of St.
Joseph’s Church here, began ne
gotiations which finally resulted
in the acquisition of the hospital
building by the Diocese of Sa
vannah-Atlanta.
At the invitation of Bishop
O’Hara, Missionary Sisters of the
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus came
to Athens to inaugurate their work
of charity and mercy in Georgia,
and with Sister M. Columba, M. S.
C., II. N.r as superintendent, St.
Mary’s Hospital was formally dedi
cated on July 10, 1938.
With each succeeding year since
1938, St. Mary’s Hospital has prov-
. en itself more and more of an
asset to the community. During
the war years, all of its facilities
were gladly offered to the mem
bers of the armed forces, officers,
soldiers, and cadets of the mili
tary and naval establishments in
Athens, though it often seemed
impo=sible for the hospital to meet
the demands for its services.
Increased demands upon the
tiospital made necessary the erec
tion in 1941, of a four-story addi
tion, containing private rooms and
semi-private rooms, wards for
men and women patients, operat-i
ing and delivery rooms, a labora
tory, a kitchen and a refrigeration
plant.
Since that time the need for
hospitalization in this area has
steadily increased, so it became
necessary for the Missionery Sis
ters of the Most Sacred Heart of
Jesus to make another addition ta
their hospital building here.
This new addition will further
modernize and improve St. Mary’s
Hospital which has been a con
tributing factor to the health and
well being of Athens and its sur
rounding area for nine years. It
has been efficiently operated and
has offered its services to charity
and paying patients without dis
tinction.
The completion of the new addi
tion and the work of remddeling
the original building will mean
the beginning of another and still
brighter chapter in the record of
service that (lie Missionary Sisters
of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
have established in Athens.
Approximately 22,000 patients
have been registered al St. Mary's
Hospital since it began operation
in 1938, nearly 99 per cent of theiu
being non-Catliolics. ,
Female Orphan Benevolent Society
Holds Annual Meeting inSavannah