A BLAST FROM THE PAST
The Sunday Courier and Press - February 27, 1981
A local hospital and local church have combined their efforts so people like Leila Evans can have the convenience of a home away from home.
Miss Evans, who lives in Owensboro, Ky., has been taking radiation therapy treatments on weekdays for five weeks at St. Mary’s Medical Center.
She was dumbfounded when she learned she’d have to take the treatments every day.
“I didn’t see how I could possibly make the daily round trip from Owensboro to Evansville by myself,” she said. Officials at St. Mary’s told Miss Evans about the old parsonage at Oakhill Baptist church. And in little time the church people had made arrangements for Miss Evans to occupy the facility so she wouldn’t have to commute from Owensboro or rent a room in Evansville.
“This is just the grandest place I ever heard of. I brought my typewriter, my lamp, my niece’s television and just moved right in,” Miss Evans said.
Although Miss Evans normally transports herself to St. Mary’s, the church people came through when driving conditions were hazardous recently.
Even though his son was having surgery that morning, church member Ronald Baker picked up Miss Evans in his four-wheel drive vehicle and took her to the hospital when snow and ice made driving hazardous.
Several people - including outpatients and patients’ relatives - have occupied the house since it was ready in early August of last year.
About a year ago, Emma Meredith, a secretary in quality assurance at St. Mary’s, and Micki Bennett, a registered nurse who is a discharge planner there, noticed that relatives of patients were sleeping in the hospital waiting rooms.
The two women conducted a survey which found that many of the relatives were from out of town. Unable to afford hotel accommodations but still desiring to be near seriously ill family members, the relatives had no alternative but to bed down for the night somewhere in the hospital.
Aside from their regular responsibilities, the women took up the challenge of doing something about the problem. They requested information from area churches concerning what type of temporary lodging might be available for patient’s relatives or patients themselves who needed regular outpatient treatment.
Although the request was only for information, Oakhill Baptist responded with the offer of letting people stay in its old parsonage.
“We had on occasion used this space for accommodating visiting ministers,” said the Rev. Roy Jones, pastor at the church. “It was just one of those things where they had a need, and we had the facilities.”
Church people June Baker and Norman Baggett were instrumental in organizing the congregation, which took up the task of supplying clean linens, transporting patients to the hospital and cleaning the facilities on a weekly basis.
For St. Mary’s, the Oakhill facility represents the first step in a project they hope will grow. The old parsonage has only one bedroom with a double bed available, so facilities are somewhat limited.
But Ms. Bennett and Ms. Meredith are keeping their eyes open for facilities which would enable them to expand the project. The house is also available to patients at Evansville’s other hospitals.
Women on Mission will meet Monday, August 13th at 6:00 pm at the church. All our ladies are invited to be with us.
