Our Richmond leadership along with The Most Reverend Barry C. Knestout, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, recently came together to celebrate the integration of Bon Secours Southside Medical Center and Bon Secours Southern Virginia Medical Center into the Catholic tradition of Bon Secours.
Our ministry acquired both these facilities on January 1, 2020. Since then, leaders have worked tirelessly to create a seamless transition of care delivery and onboarding new team members while keeping our patients at the center of all services provided.
This milestone was marked with a socially distant celebration at each hospital. During each blessing, Bishop Knestout said a special prayer, blessed crucifixes that will hang in patient and common rooms, and met with a few select team members who have gone above and beyond the call to serve during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Phyllis Ellis, environmental services worker at Southside Medical Center
During COVID-19 our environmental services teams have continued to create a safe environment for our staff and patients. Phyllis Ellis, one of our environmental services team members, embodies that spirit and care.
In addition to some of the day to day tasks she has been performing during the pandemic, Phyllis felt a calling to find new ways to express and show gratitude to our COVID-19-unit care team members. She showed her appreciation by creating care packages which included homemade face masks.
Dietary Services Teams
Our dietary services teams have responded in unique ways to care for our team members and community during the pandemic. Early on, when regular food staples such as milk, eggs, and bread were hard to come by, the dietary teams at both these facilities made these items available for purchase in the cafeterias so our staff wouldn’t be without the essentials.
This team also made to-go meals available for purchase as well. In addition, the team at Southern Virginia began preparing meals in partnership for other community businesses.
Nurses
Throughout the pandemic, our nurses and frontline health care workers have responded in courageous and creative ways to meet the needs of our communities and patients. At times when our intensive care unit staffing has been challenged, nurses from other units with proper experience volunteered to help.
Of course, with the pandemic we’ve had to enforce stricter visitation policies to protect our patients, team members and the community. In those moments, our nurses and chaplains stepped up to provide quality, compassionate care to support our patients. This is the ultimate demonstration of living out our ministry’s mission. Our nurses at Southside and Southern Virginia continue to be flexible in caring for and supporting needs during this unprecedented time.
Learn about the health care services we provide at Bon Secours and find a provider near you.
