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MinistryHealing MinistryThree Presentation Sisters came to the Aberdeen area in the late 19th century to educate the children living here. At the turn of the century, our sisters began caring for victims of diphtheria and typhoid epidemics in their homes and in their schools. In 1901 our sisters opened our first health care facility, St. Luke’s Hospital, in Aberdeen. In heeding the Gospel call to care for the sick, our health care ministry continued to grow and we soon opened several other hospitals in the region. In 1978 we formed the Presentation Health System to combine the strengths of our individual institutions. In September 2000 the Presentation Sisters and the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery announced that we would cosponsor a health care system called Avera Health. In this collaborative effort we strive to model effective collaboration by integrating our respective health ministries in order to strengthen our ability to serve the people of the region.
What does health care sponsorship mean?The Presentation Sisters often refer to the employees of the Avera Health system as "our heart and hands." This is because they lay women and men are truly partners in ministry with the Presentation and Benedictine Sisters. In September 2000, when the Presentation Sisters joined their Presentation Health System with the health system sponsored by the Benedictine Sisters of Yankton, each group realized that together they could provide a better system for health care in the region. Thus, Avera Health was born. As sponsors, the Sisters bring their mission and values to Avera, and nurture those values in Avera caregivers through orientation and education programs and through retaining the authority of governance through Presentation and Benedictine Sister System Members. The Sister-sponsored hospitals and nursing homes are separately incorporated not-for-profit legal entities. The Sisters do not receive any financial benefits from their sponsored institutions or from Avera, and they do not receive free care at Avera hospitals or nursing homes. Many sisters are active in the Avera ministry as board members, mission directors and pastoral care workers. featured sisterSister Janet Schumacher
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Presentation Sisters' Health Care Timeline1901 - (Avera) St. Luke's Hospital, Aberdeen, S.D.
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As spiritual care coordinator for the June E. Nylan Cancer Center in Sioux City, Iowa, and Hospice of Siouxland, Sister Janet Schumacher, pictured below, right, works with medical and social work staff to provide holistic care for families and people with life-limiting illnesses. She spends her days providing supportive counseling for families and patients and praying with individuals. She is also called upon to provide prayer rituals and to facilitate bereavement and caregiver support groups. Sister works to enhance communication among family members and to foster faith relationships with the patients’ congregations, as well as to lead memorial and funeral services when needed.