During a recent visit to UH St. John Medical Center in Westlake, Bishop Edward Malesic commended the doctors, nurses and all who care for and support the patients, including staff and volunteers. He celebrated Mass in the hospital chapel and spent time visiting with hospital leadership as well as touring sections of the 204-bed full-service, acute care nonprofit Catholic hospital.
Jesus understands the suffering of the patients, the bishop said in his homily, noting Jesus himself suffered, even enduring a painful death. “Jesus is here today. He’s present in a special way. He understands the patients and those who bring help to them. He is the ultimate physician,” he added.
“Science can only go so far. It doesn’t heal the soul. There is only one physician who can heal the soul and bring it back to God,” Bishop Malesic said.
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But UH St. John Medical Center is a “wonderful place of health, healing and God’s presence,” he said. There is no life without suffering and God wanted to understand that, the bishop explained, so he came here as a human, as a baby and experienced hunger, suffering, thirst in the desert and the pain of crucifixion.
“There is no way to get to the better life except to pick up the cross and follow Jesus. What is the power of God? That cross. It takes faith to have hope in the cross of Christ. Faith is fragile and easily can be lost, so it needs to be renewed,” the bishop said.
Referring to the day’s Gospel, he compared faith to the oil in the virgins’ lamps. He said we fill our souls with faith (like the lamp oil) so he will know us and we will know him.”
Concelebrating Mass was Father Dan Fickes, the hospital’s Catholic chaplain. Sister Kendra Bottoms, SND, vice president mission, ministry and pastoral care; Johnathan Sague, chief operating officer; Sister Judith Ann Karam, CSA, congregational leader, Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and chair, Sisters of Charity Health System; Father Dennis Kristof, chaplain; Cliff Megerian, CEO, University Hospitals; Cathy Knorzer, chief nursing officer; and representative of the hospital’s board were among the small group visiting with the bishop during his Aug. 26 visit. Patients were able to watch a livestream of the Mass in their rooms and other hospital staff and volunteers could watch the liturgy in the auditorium.
After Mass, the bishop met with the leadership team at a brief outdoor reception before touring portions of the hospital where he chatted with some of the nurses and doctors.
UH St. John Medical Center opened in 1981. It was a merger of St. John Hospital in Cleveland (the Detroit Avenue building now houses St. Augustine Health Ministries) and Bay View Osteopathic General Hospital in Bay Village. St. John Hospital provided medical care on Cleveland’s West Side for a century –1890-1990. It was operated by the CSA sisters from 1916 until it closed in 1990. The emergency room continued serving patients until 1993. The new hospital is at 29000 Center Ridge Road, Westlake. It was co-owned by the SCHS and UH from 1999 to November 2015, when sole ownership transferred to UH.