Endowment established in honor of Sister Catherine Hellman to benefit health of Central Oregon residents
Bend, Ore. - Sister Catherine Hellmann always said her work building the Bend medical community, including the current hospital, was akin to setting the table for a feast she may not be able to attend. Hellmann, who served as first a nurse and then later chief executive officer at St. Charles Bend, died on Sept. 27, 2009, at age 88.
Her commitment to caring for the medical needs of Central Oregon residents will live on with a $1.4 million gift funded by an insurance policy and annuity that was established by SCHS in Hellmann's name, according to Dwight Heaney, executive director of the St. Charles Foundation. The policy names SCHS as the beneficiary.
In her spirit of caring for all patients, the SCHS board has decided to use the money to create the Sister Catherine Hellmann Endowment to support activities and services that benefit the community.
The permanent endowment, to be managed by the St. Charles Foundation, will be used to fund projects that align with the values that Hellmann considered most important, Heaney said. Sister Catherine was influential in a variety of health-related causes within the community. Potential beneficiaries include community outreach projects that work to improve the health of Central Oregon residents.
"This is a lasting tribute to Sister Catherine," Heaney said. "She spent her life trying to make this a better place for people who are in need of health care."
The Sister Catherine Hellmann Endowment serves as important recognition for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Tipton, Indiana, who arrived in Bend in 1918 to start a hospital in the small timber town.
"Sister Catherine lived her life in line with the vows of the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Catholic Church," said James A. Diegel, FACHE, president and CEO of St. Charles Health System. "She took a vow of poverty like all the nuns in her order, but they live a life of generosity giving in any way they can. Creating this endowment in Sister Catherine's honor is a testament to that very generosity."
As part of the Catholic order, Hellmann came to Bend in 1948 to serve as a nurse but left in 1951 to earn her master's degree in health care administration. She returned to Bend in 1969 as president and CEO of St. Charles, guiding the hospital with her spirit of love and compassion. After stepping down as CEO in 1989, she continued to serve as president emeritus of St. Charles Bend until her retirement in 2001.
"Sister Catherine's legacy is a vision for health care that focused on physical, emotional and spiritual healing," Diegel said. "I'm pleased to honor that legacy with the creation of an endowment that will be used to help provide care to those in need."
About the St. Charles Foundation - As the philanthropic arm of St. Charles Bend and St. Charles Redmond, the Foundation works to support and improve health care in Central and Eastern Oregon. Private donations raised by the Foundation allow St. Charles to build new medical facilities, purchase state-of-the-art medical equipment, keep pace with the latest technological advances and deliver exceptional patient care in a healing environment. The Foundation does more than just raise money for bricks and mortar. The organization also raises money to support many programs that benefit low-income and uninsured patients.
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