Recognizing St. Joseph Healthcare

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, St. Joseph Healthcare of Bangor, ME, was founded in 1947 by the Felician Sisters with a mission to support the wellness and healing of a patient's mind, body, and spirit. On this 75th anniversary, I congratulate this outstanding institution for carrying out that mission with expertise and compassion.

St. Joseph is a 112-bed acute care community hospital that brings together primary care providers and specialists focused on delivering personalized medicine in more than 30 departments. It is a member of Covenant Health, an innovative, Catholic regional health delivery network that is a leader in values-based, not-for-profit health and elder care.

The St. Joseph story began in 1855 in Warsaw, Poland, when Blessed Angela founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Felix, an order dedicated to serving the poor, the sick, and the disabled. The Felician Sisters were founded with a particular focus on serving the Polish countryside. St. Joseph Healthcare continues that tradition by its efforts to ensure healthcare services for rural Maine.

St. Joseph's contributions as a healthcare provider are enormous but only part of its mission. The hospital's facilities have been applied to such needs as providing laundry and food services to the area's homeless shelters. A food pantry, an elementary school backpack program, and a community vegetable exchange stand help alleviate food insecurity. St. Joseph's Closet provides patients who are being discharged with needed clothing. The Blessing Bag program provides food, winter clothing, and basic personal hygiene items to homeless emergency room patients.

Countless other acts of kindness complement the St. Joseph mission of meeting the spiritual and religious needs of patients regardless of their beliefs and traditions or spirituality. The 16th century Capuchin friar canonized St. Felix was known in his time as ``the saint of the streets of Rome'' for his daily journeys through the city dispensing food, medicine, and comfort to the poor, the sick, and the troubled. The dedicated staff and leadership of St. Joseph Healthcare continue that legacy through the streets of Bangor and the country roads of Maine, and I thank them for their blessed service.

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