Ursulines get grants to fund health-care wing renovation

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SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR The Mahoning Valley Hospital Foundation recently presented a check to the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown for the renovation of its Motherhouse health care wing. From left are Mike Senchak, president and chief executive officer of the foundation; Sister Mary McCormick, general superior; and Sisters Patricia McNicholas and Norma Raupple of the nuns’ leadership team.

Staff report

CANFIELD

Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown are announcing that they have received two grants slated for use on their $1 million Motherhouse Health Care Renovation, one from the Mahoning Valley Hospital Foundation and one from SOAR!

The foundation donated $103,500 for the project. The grant will pay for furnishing 10 bedrooms with new, state-of-the-art hospital beds and all linens.

It also will cover the purchase of all furniture, televisions and window treatments for the bedrooms and for the sisters’ new solarium. The all-weather room will allow less-mobile nuns to enjoy the outdoors safely and to have a place to meet with visitors.

The grant also will fund the purchase of a new handicapped-accessible whirlpool tub and specialized equipment for the physical therapy room and a nurse’s desk.

The second grant, for $25,000, came from Support Our Aging Religious, known as SOAR!, of Washington, D.C. The grant-funding organization helps U.S. Catholic religious congregations improve the quality of life for aging religious.

This grant will pay for the building of three handicapped-accessible bathrooms for the renovated health-care wing, where the sisters live when they need assisted living care, have chronic conditions or are recuperating from surgery.

Renovations began in January to improve physical and safety needs of the nuns in long-term care. For example, the doors of the bathrooms in the 52-year-old wing of the Ursuline Motherhouse weren’t wide enough for the use of walkers and wheelchairs.

The whole wing has been gutted and the spaces reconfigured. Any usable items were donated to Habitat for Humanity’s Restore in Struthers. The floor now has 10 bedrooms for long-term care, a physical therapy room and a solarium, kitchen and dining area and other things needed for assisted living.

ABOUT THE URSULINE SISTERS

The sisters are Catholic nuns with a 140-year history of helping people in Northeast Ohio.

Ministries include the founding of and ongoing educational enterprises at Ursuline High School, Youngstown, and Ursuline Preschool and Kindergarten, Canfield.

Beatitude House helps homeless women and their children break the cycle of poverty by offering transitional housing and parenting guidance. It also helps disadvantaged and immigrant families.

HIV/AIDS Ministry provides a Comprehensive Care Center medical clinic; The Guardian Angel Cafe and Angela’s Place, which serves meals and distributes groceries; and Casa Madre, which provides tutoring and mentoring for children.

Young Adult Outreach gives college students Service Learning opportunities.

The Motherhouse Pool serves more than 800 people each week with swimming lessons for children and preventive and other health care for adults.

The Ursuline Center, an educational facility, offers many enrichment programs for all ages.

Sister Jerome’s Poor helps working families with emergency expenses.

Sister Jerome’s Kids: Mission College, helps poor college students with expenses and mentoring.

Ursuline Sisters Senior Living provides 12 apartments for independent seniors of moderate social security income.

The sisters also minister as college and school instructors, in social services, as chaplains in health care and in area parishes.

ABOUT THE FOUNDATION

The Mahoning Valley Hospital Foundation was created in 2009 after the sale of the former Mahoning Valley Hospital, in Boardman. Mike Senchak had helped to found the facility and served as the president and chief executive officer during its nine years of operation.

With assets from the sale, he organized the foundation to continue the hospital’s work in the community.