Ministry forges a special bond between a parish and a hospital

What happens when a parish and a hospital join forces to help meet the physical, social, and spiritual needs of patients? The patients benefit, the hospital benefits, and the parish benefits. A Twining Ministry has expanded patient care at Mercy Hospital in Urbana, Il, where people from St. Matthew's parish in neighboring Champaign volunteer at the hospital. The parish and the hospital teamed up for this effort when Sr. Myra Lambert, SSCM, working in the Pastoral care Department at Mercy, set out to develop closer ties with Catholic parishes in the community. Meanwhile, St. Matthew's was looking for ways parishioners could get involved in a ministry that extended beyond parish boundaries. The hospital chose the 25-bed rehabilitation unit as the focal point of the ministry. St. Matthew's recruited volunteers; Mercy trained them. About 50 volunteers are currently involved in the ongoing program. They assist by helping plan and carry out a variety of activities inside and outside the hospital. They visit patients and provide temporary homes for patients' families; they offer transportation, make phone calls, and do mailings for support groups. They also help with meals, write and read letters, take patients for walks, and transport them to other service areas in the hospital.