PeaceHealth launches “Blessing the Front Line” effort
Photo: Caregivers gathered at windows of PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center to watch a procession of Springfield police and EMS vehicles paying tribute to our healthcare heroes. Photos are posted on their Facebook page; photo credit to Jenna and Emily.
Below is an open letter to the community from PeaceHealth Oregon Network Chief Executive Mary Kingston.
Dear friends and neighbors,
On behalf of our caregivers and physicians in the PeaceHealth Oregon Network, please know how inspiring and valued your generosity has been over the last month. The outpouring of love, prayers and thoughtful donations lifts our spirits every day. We truly feel valued as a healthcare organization.
Inspired by these heartfelt gestures of kindness, we are providing another forum for community members to express their support for our healthcare team. Today, we are kicking off “Blessing the Front Line.” We encourage our friends, neighbors – anyone – to share a simple note of encouragement or prayer for our team. We will collect these notes daily and distribute them to those who need reassurance, teams to use as their reflection and other ways to share your “light” that is so visible to us in our community.
At PeaceHealth, one of the traditions we carry on from our founding sisters is pausing before each meeting with a reflection or blessing. This is a moment in time where we collectively focus on words to inspire, unify and provide grace before carrying on with our work. Now more than ever, these reflections help ground us during this COVID-19 pandemic.
The mailing address is:
PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, c/o “Blessing the Front Line;” 3333 RiverBend Drive, Springfield, OR 97477;
additionally, you may send an email to: blessingthefrontlines@peacehealth.org.
These notes will also allow us to memorialize this chapter of our shared story. Thank you for the tremendous expressions of support and encouragement to our team. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to you.
-Mary Kingston, Chief Executive
PeaceHealth Oregon Network
About PeaceHealth: PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. It has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a group practice with more than 900 providers and 10 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.
