Monks residing in the infirmary

As most of you know one of my jobs now at the monastery is "Director of the infirmary." While I am not a nurse or in anyway officially a part of the medical profession, I am the supervisor, as it were, of the nurses and aides who work there and the members of the community who reside in the infirmary. As a result when there is a problem they usually first of all call me. Frequently I drive the older members to doctor appointments, sometimes in St. Joseph, MO and other times to Maryville, MO.

We presently have five members of the community who reside regularly in the infirmary. Father Joachim who is the oldest member of our community (89 years old) and will be 90 in January. He is able to take care of himself and takes very little assistance from the nursing staff. Abbot James is there. Abbot James is 84 years old and he is pretty well confined to a wheel chair. He requires for the most part, full nursing care. Father Roland resides there and is under hospice care. He is 81 years old and has a very bad heart condition. He requires quite a bit of nursing care and also has his meals in his room. He is on oxygen twenty four hours a day. Father Paschal is in the infirmary. He is partly able to take care of himself but needs supervision for his medicine etc. And Brother George is there. Brother George is a monk who transferred to Conception Abbey a few years ago when Corpus Christi Abbey in Texas was suppressed. He moves about in a mechanized wheel chair and needs supervision for his medicine. Father Hugh just left the infirmary after being here a few weeks following colon surgery. It is not unusual for us to have another one or two there after surgery or a rather serious illness. Father Regis was residing there when he died a week or two ago.

To take care of these confreres we have nine employees in the infirmary, including one who only comes in three days a week for four hours for housekeeping. Only four of the employees are full time, the remainder being part time employees. Mrs. Carol Madden is the only R.N. and she is in charge of the nursing staff. Four of the other nurses are L.P.N. We have to staff the infirmary of course seven days a week and twenty four hours a day so that means three shifts each day. All the residents eat their meals in a dining room in the infirmary. The meals are prepared in the central kitchen for the whole institution.

Finally I thought you might like to see a picture of the author of this blog after my skin cancer surgery a week ago. It is healing nicely and the stitches come out this Friday