Support for Pacific Islander Health Project Recognized
Irene Maun (l.), a former employee at Mount Carmel, is a community health worker at Crescent Community Health Center’s Pacific Islander Health Project.
Naming of a suite at Crescent Community Health Center in Dubuque, Iowa, honors Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Sisters of St. Frances, OSF for their support of the Pacific Islander Health Project.
Catherine Dunn, BVM and Helen Huewe, OSF led the project, says Gary Collins, chief executive officer at Crescent. “Both were not just instrumental in the creation of Crescent Community Health Center, but also in the formation of the efforts around the Pacific Islander Health project.”
Catherine Dunn is a recent Crescent advocacy award winner and Helen Huewe helped establish Crescent in 2006.
“Sister Catherine’s dedication to lead the organization in its early years and her continued support to impact the work of Crescent, enabled progress toward fulfilling the vision statement of ‘quality care for all–resulting in a healthy community,’” Gary says.
People from the Marshall Islands face barriers including health care, employment, education, and language, compounded by poverty.
The program assists with translation, navigation of the healthcare system, advocacy, and transportation, in addition to primary medical and dental care.
Dubuque has 600 to 800 Marshallese residents, the largest Marshallese population in Iowa.
Both BVMs and Franciscans financially supported the Pacific Islander program.
“The actual naming started with a conversation with Sister Helen as Crescent wanted to honor the sisters for their contributions. To this day, Crescent acknowledges the immense impact the two organizations have made under the leadership and generosity of Sister Helen and Sister Catherine,” Gary says.
BVMs have provided two Ministry Partnership Grants to the Pacific Islander Health Project and for the past several years, it received one of the monthly peace and justice collections from BVM sisters who reside at Mount Carmel Bluffs.
In the Marshall Islands, fallout from nuclear testing by the United States fell like snow from 1946 to 1958. It left generations with health problems and many places uninhabitable. One-third of the population was forced to relocate.
The islands became a sovereign nation in 1986. But they are tied to the United States through a Compact of Free Association, which gives the residents the right to live and work here without a Visa or Green Card.
BVMs have hired 29 Marshallese people, primarily to work in health care, starting more than a decade ago.
“Our first linkage to the Marshallese and Crescent was in 2016 when we were asked to join other donors to provide funds for a bilingual Marshallese health care worker to navigate between the Marshallese and local health care providers,” says Mira Mosle, BVM, who serves on the Pacific Islander Health Project Advisory Council.
One of the Community Health Workers, Irene Maun, who was hired by Crescent Community Health Center in 2017, had worked at Mount Carmel for four years and credits BVMs for her fluency in English.
Sisters and associates also donated sewing machines and contributed to medical care packages.
Related:
Crescent Advocacy Award for Catherine Dunn, BVM
In 2020, Catherine Dunn, BVM, was honored for her advocacy for Crescent Community Health Center in Dubuque, Iowa.
Awards are giving annually to people who have “impacted the work of Crescent and enabled our progress toward fulfilling our vision—quality care for all—resulting in a healthy community,” says a news release.
Catherine, one of four people given the award, served on the Crescent board of directors. Crescent provides primary medical and dental care as well as other services.
“Without advocates, community health centers would not have grown over the past 55 years to serve more than 30 million Americans annually across the country,” said Gary Collins, CEO for Crescent. “With supporters like our awardees, community health centers have become substantial economic drivers with a $35.5 million economic impact in Iowa alone.”