Photo: Sister Anne with Sr. Cecilia Marie Gri and Susan Barnes, RN following Sr. Cecilia's minor surgery at St. John Medical Center, Longview.
St. 
John Medical Center has changed dramatically in the years since 1943, when the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace were invited to run a small community hospital in Longview, Washington. St. John has grown and stretched, with renovation a constant element to keep up with innovations in medical technology and changes in community needs. The Sisters no longer administer the hospital; today the CSJP presence is subtler, deeper, woven into the fabric of each new employee’s orientation, each staff meeting.
Today Sister Anne Hayes and Sister Catherine McInnes bring that presence into the daily life of St. John’s and Sisters Cecilia Marie Gri, Maria Gri, Rose Marie Nigro and Francena Dodd are an integral part of the St. John’s community. Sister Anne Hayes, Vice President for Mission Effectiveness and Organization Integrity Officer at St. John’s, says, “I see being a presence to others, doing what you can to build up the other person and to respect the other as a way of living out our charism.”
“I often find myself in an advocacy role,” Anne says, “as Mission Officer, when I participate in management meetings, I ask how any proposal will affect the lives of our patients and our staff. In a way, I get to speak as the conscience of the organization. Both the heritage of the Sisters and my childhood in Northern Ireland, give me a strong feeling for justice issues – I can be really passionate about those. But as I’ve grown older, I find I can communicate that passion much more effectively, without overwhelming others.”
For Sister Anne, it’s a joy to see how important the CSJP heritage and values are to St. John staff members. “Every day brings the validation of walking with others who really appreciate our orientation to peace,” she says. “I do the orientation of new employees, and always hear that our CSJP presence makes PeaceHealth really different from other systems. I loved hearing Cal Lantz, our Vice President for Professional Services, say to new employees last week, ‘you are going to love this organization because the Sisters have left such a legacy, and now we carry it forward.’”
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