[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 222 (Thursday, December 30, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1399-E1400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR LADY OF PEACE HOSPICE & HOME 
                              HEALTH CARE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 30, 2021

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the 
staff, volunteers, patients, and families of Our Lady of Peace Home on 
its 80th anniversary of service to the Saint Paul community. A non-
profit community hospice and home health care organization offering 
care at no cost to those in need, Our Lady of Peace has been a beacon 
of light caring for more than 25,000 people at the end-of-life and 
their families over the past eight decades.
  The Our Lady of Peace legacy in Saint Paul began in 1941 when nine 
nuns from the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne traveled to Minnesota from 
New York to open the Our Lady of Good Counsel Home. This was the sixth 
home established by the nuns, and their focus then was on serving 
terminally ill cancer patients without means to pay or care for 
themselves. This service was started by Rose

[[Page E1400]]

Hawthorne Lathrop who nursed cancer patients in New York City in the 
late 1800s before founding the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. The 
hospice home in Saint Paul was the furthest west out of all six homes 
and took shape during a globally perilous time in history as World War 
II was waging in Europe. Nevertheless, the grand opening for Our Lady 
of Good Counsel's home in Saint Paul was set, and they opened their 
doors on December 7, 1941--a day that would live in infamy for the 
attack on Pearl Harbor that would launch the United States into the 
war.
  From that day onward, the sisters and other volunteers at the home 
have provided compassionate care for terminally ill patients while 
bringing comfort and support to their loved ones. Though the modern 
practice of hospice care was not introduced until the late 1960's, the 
Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne had been quietly providing hospice care 
for decades. Throughout those first few decades of service, Our Lady of 
Good Counsel depended entirely on donations of goods, money, time, and 
service, and they never accepted payment from patients, families, 
insurance companies or the government. Today they still rely heavily on 
volunteers and donations to cover any costs not covered by Medicare 
payments in order to ensure a free service to patients and families. In 
1980 they were able to replace the old Tri-State Telephone Company 
building in which they were founded with a brand-new building. The new 
building included a chapel, central courtyard with gardens and a 
fountain, and two floors for patient rooms; expanding their capacity to 
the twenty-one beds that remain today.
  The turn of the century marked a period of expansion and transition 
for the organization. In the early 2000's they introduced an official 
hospice program which allowed them to provide end-of-life care outside 
of their residential facility and serve people in their homes 
throughout the entire 7-county metro area in Minnesota. They also 
established the Home Health Care program which provides in-home help 
with daily living, post-operative care and other therapies. They are 
also affiliated with the Highland Block Nurse Program which is funded 
in part by Title III of the Older Americans Act and provides a variety 
of services for older adults and their caregivers in the Highland Park 
neighborhood in St. Paul. In 2009 the operation of the home was 
transitioned to the St. Paul-based Franciscan Health Community, and two 
years later the home was officially renamed ``Our Lady of Peace.''
  Led by President & CEO Joe Stanislav, Our Lady of Peace is served 
today by four Franciscan Clarist nuns and employs over 130 workers 
including chaplains, social workers, nurses and a full-time physician. 
And despite their ties to the church as a Catholic non-profit 
organization they serve patients from all religious or non-religious 
backgrounds and walks of life. For 80 years they have upheld their 
mission to gently comfort and care for those most in need near the end 
of their lives, wherever they call home, regardless of means. Madam 
Speaker, please join me in recognizing Our Lady of Peace's benevolent 
and dedicated staff and volunteers--as well as the patients and 
families they serve--on their 80th anniversary of service.

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