St. Charles Hospital Receives a $25,000  New York Life Foundation “Love Takes Action” Award

Catholic Health’s St. Charles Hospital (SCH) announced today that they received a $25,000 New York Life Foundation “Love Takes Action” Award, in the COVID-19 response category. The grant will support the hospital’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 

The awards were administered by the New York Community Trust on behalf of the Foundation. Only 20 nonprofits out of 117 applications from across the country were named as grant recipients. Organizations were nominated by New York Life agents and employees.  

“We are extremely grateful to the New York Life Foundation for selecting St. Charles Hospital as a grant recipient,” said St. Charles President James O’Connor. “I would also like to thank Brian Miller at New York Life for submitting a nomination on our behalf, which was an extremely moving letter written by Sheila Kirchner, an outpatient physical therapist from St. Charles.”

In the nomination letter, Sheila beautifully portrayed her real-life experience working at St. Charles Hospital during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sheila volunteered to be redeployed from outpatient therapy to the hospital’s inpatient Intensive Care Unit to help prone COVID-19 patients, turning them from their back onto their stomach. Also, she assisted families communicate with their loved ones battling COVID-19 using iPads. In her letter, Sheila shared how she held the hand of a dying patient, so he would not die alone. 

“We learned through the COVID-19 pandemic, that love truly does take action, and Sheila, and her colleagues embodied that behavior with all of their patients and families,” said Mr. O’Connor. “We are honored that Sheila’s story resonated with the New York Life Foundation.”