093_HR0580

 
                                     LRB093 14479 HSS 20219 r

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, November 2003 marks exactly  100  years  to  the
 3    month since seven Canadian nuns of the order of the Religious
 4    Hospitallers  of  St.  Joseph  arrived  in Chicago to found a
 5    hospital; and

 6        WHEREAS,  Just  24  months  after  arriving   here   from
 7    Montreal,  these  determined nuns opened St. Bernard Hospital
 8    in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago; and

 9        WHEREAS, St. Bernard is the only hospital  of  four  that
10    have  served  Englewood  over  the  years to remain after the
11    community underwent devastating economic and  social  changes
12    and  has  provided  continuous service to Englewood since its
13    doors opened in 1905; and

14        WHEREAS, Children are  the  largest  single  category  of
15    patients  at St. Bernard's Emergency Room and the majority of
16    their care is subsidized or provided cost-free; and

17        WHEREAS,  On  November  18,  2003,   a   state-of-the-art
18    pediatric  mobile  health  unit  was unveiled to kick-off St.
19    Bernard's two-year Centennial Celebration; and

20        WHEREAS, The mobile  pediatric  health  unit  will  offer
21    onsite vaccinations and other health care services at schools
22    throughout Englewood; and

23        WHEREAS,   The   staff  of  the  mobile  unit  will  work
24    interactively with the hospital's innovative Pediatric Urgent
25    Care Clinic to improve access to pediatric immunizations  and
26    checkups  as  well as link the children and their families to
27    other community and service groups; and

28        WHEREAS, Today the staff, board, and hospital  leadership
29    of   St.  Bernard  Hospital  have  maintained  the  tradition
30    established by the first sisters who arrived in Englewood  by
 
                            -2-      LRB093 14479 HSS 20219 r
 1    relying on the neighborhood for many kinds of support; and

 2        WHEREAS,  Many dignitaries will join the community at the
 3    dedication of the  mobile  pediatric  unit  including  Sister
 4    Elizabeth  Van  Straten,  R.H.S.J.,  President of St. Bernard
 5    Hospital  and  Health  Center;  Gallery  37   Artist   Miguel
 6    Fernandez,  who  has  designed  a  40 foot long mural for the
 7    mobile unit; City of Chicago Cultural Arts Commissioner  Lois
 8    Weisberg;   Sister   Anne-Marie  Savoie,  R.H.S.J.,  Superior
 9    General of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph;  Gregory
10    Whitehead,  Chairman  of  St.  Bernard's  Board  of Trustees;
11    Bishop Joseph Perry of the Archdiocese of  Chicago;  and  the
12    Walter Reed Elementary School Choir; therefore, be it

13        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
14    NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that
15    we  congratulate  St.  Bernard Hospital and Health Center for
16    its  service  to  Illinois  and  for  the  kick-off  of   its
17    Centennial Celebration; and be it further

18        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
19    presented  to  Sister  Elizabeth   Van   Straten,   R.H.S.J.,
20    President  of  St.  Bernard  Hospital and Health Center, as a
21    token of our respect and esteem and with sincere  wishes  for
22    its continued success.