Sister pays visit to new Mercy cancer center

Friday, February 24, 2012
Dr. Woody Grantham (left) and Sister Mary Conetta Cardinale share a few laughs while posing for a photograph in front of her star of recognition.(Submitted Photo)

The newly opened Mercy Cancer Care Unit of Hope received an unexpected visit on Thursday from a face familiar to hospital staff and physicians -- Sister Mary Concetta Cardinale.

Her visit to Fort Scott was unscheduled, due to the death of her sister, who lived in Wichita. She made the journey from her new home at Catherine's Residence in St. Louis to attend the funeral service, accompanied by Sr. Jeremey Buchman.

While at the cancer center, Sister Cardinale paused for photographs with the recognition star bestowed upon her by the Mercy by the Mercy Foundation Board for her service.

Sister Mary Concetta Cardinale (left) shares stories with Mercy President and CEO Reta Baker (center) and Shelly Callanan, Mercy senior financial analyst, during an unexpected visit on Thursday.(Submitted Photo)

Sister Cardinale received her diploma in nursing from the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Fort Scott in 1945.

"Exposure to the concept of caring and concern for others, especially older adults came early for me," she said in a news release. "As a preschooler, my mother regularly sent me to various neighborhood homes with a hot meal. She always told us that as long as she was fixing a meal for the family, she might as well add a little more and share with the neighbors who were not well enough to fix a meal for themselves."

Sister Cardinale's ministry began locally when she returned to Fort Scott in March of 1948 and worked as a nursing supervisor, in obstetrics and in the operating room at the Burke Street hospital.

The Columbus area native professed perpetual vows on Aug. 16, 1951, in St. Louis. From 1952-59, Sister Cardinale practiced in Independence and Hutchinson. She returned to Fort Scott in 1959 to serve as an operating room supervisor and clinical instructor, eventually serving as head nurse from 1963-67. Between 1968 and 1987, she lived and worked in other communities.

With open arms, the Fort Scott community delighted in Sister Cardinale's return in 1987. She served as outreach coordinator and hospice director until her retirement in May 2010. She now resides at Catherine's Residence, a retirement residence for Sisters of Mercy.

Mercy Health Center President and CEO Reta Baker said the occasion was a "wonderful surprise." This is only the sister's second visit back here since she retired.

"We think about her nearly every day," Baker said. "She sends messages to us that we're in her prayers every morning. She's just a part of our history and we miss her very much. It was a short visit and it was very nice reminiscing about her time here in Fort Scott."

Baker added Sister Cardinale was "completely delighted" by what the hospital has done with the cancer center "and a little bit tearful."

"She said she was very proud of what we have accomplished," Baker said.

The sister, who turned 89 on Feb. 22, is "remarkably spry and youthful for her age," Spokeswoman Tina Rockhold said.