Oakes
Community
Hospital
314 South 8th Street
Oakes, ND 58474-2099
701-742-3291
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| Catholic health care in Oakes, North Dakota, predates the arrival of the Hankinson Franciscans by twenty years. Benedictine Sisters from Manitoba, Canada,
began the original mission in 1930, under the name of Saint Anthony's Hospital; in 1937, the Sisters of Mercy from Valley City took over the hospital and
renamed it Mercy Hospital. When the Mercy Sisters could no longer staff the hospital, Bishop Dworschak began looking for another community to succeed
them. At first our Provincial, Sister Irmtrudis, declined the offer because of a shortage of available Sisters. By mid-1950, however, after more urging from the
local pastor in Oakes that Sister Irmtrudis meet with the Sisters from Valley City, a transfer was then agreed upon. Under the patronage of the Protector of the
Holy Family, our Sisters began operating the hospital as Saint Joseph's Hospital on September 22, 1950.
By 1952 the need to renovate the old hospital became apparent, and over the next four years the decision was made to build an entirely new hospital. This project was financed by Hill-Burton funds, the Oakes civic community and the Sisters of St. Francis. The new Oakes Community Hospital (OCH) was dedicated by Bishop Dworschak on October 14, 1956. God faithfully blessed this mission for another forty-plus years where the healing mission of Jesus Christ was daily both the source and the end of the Sisters' energies. Wishing to ensure the mission beyond our own time, the hospital management and property were transferred to Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), Denver, CO, in 1998. Today our Sisters continue, with CHI, to serve the sick in Jesus' name, to bring His presence to all, in peace and in prayer. Currently, three Sisters are assigned to OCH: Sister Dianna, Sister Bernadette and Sister Norma Jean. Sister Dianna, a member of our Provincial Council, is also the Local Superior of St. Joseph's Convent, where the Sisters reside. She has spent all of her religious life in our Catholic health care apostolates. After many years as a laboratory technician and supervisor, about 11 years ago she moved into the "high-tech" world of computers, but not without some anxiety. We smile now as we recall how she later had to stiffen her resolve to make the leap from DOS to Windows 3.1! Today, she serves at OCH as Spiritual Services Director and Eucharistic Minister, and Executive Assistant to Brad Burris, the President/CEO of the hospital. Sister Bernadette is "open to just about anything". This makes her a good Sister to have on a mission. Now semi-retired after almost 60 years of cooking and baking at other missions, she's busy taking care of many of the domestic duties at St. Joseph Convent and offering herself to that healing mission of Christ as we carry it out through the corporal works of mercy, especially praying for and visiting the sick. When she is home at our provincial motherhouse in Hankinson for a few days, "How can I help you?" are words quickly heard by the Sisters in charge of the household duties. Sister Norma Jean is "hospitality on legs" around the hospital. With an ever-present smile, she offers personal care and occupational therapy to patients, particularly to residents in the "swing-bed" unit. Like the other Sisters, she visits with families, prays with the very ill or those near death, and brings the Eucharist to the sick both at the hospital and Good Samaritan Nursing Home. At home, too, she is always willing and ready to lend her hand to every task. Recently voted Employee of the Year at Oakes Community Hospital, Sister Norma Jean gives her all to her Beloved as she meets Him in those she serves. V (Reprinted from the Hankinson Franciscan's News & Review, Summer 2003) |