A Tradition of Faith

Mary Haverstick will never forget the time she realized the importance of praying with people in need.

“I was in my office working late one evening,” says the Health Facility Administrator of Saint Anne Home and Retirement Community. “A staff member told me one of our residents had suffered a stroke and was being sent to the hospital. I went to the woman’s room and observed staff calling doctors and family members making copies of medical records to send to the hospital. The staff was so busy arranging the emergency transfer that it didn’t leave a lot of time for them to spend with the resident, comforting her and soothing her fears.”

Haverstick sat with the woman and held her hand, comforting her and praying for her. After that experience, she decided Saint Anne’s needed a pastoral care staff that would be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“No one should be lying in fear alone,” says Haverstick. “That is one of the many benefits of having a chaplain, sister and two lay persons as our pastoral care staff.”

Sister Loretta Borgerding is the Pastoral Care Associate at Saint Anne’s. She says it’s not only important for the pastoral care staff to be available in emergency situations, but on a daily basis as well.

“We need the daily contact to establish relationships with our residents so that they feel comfortable with us should a need for a deeper conversation come up,” she says. “Walking with persons who are near the end of their earthly journey is a matter of love, faith and tender concern. You don’t jump into this with a person. The bond must be there.”

Saint Anne’s is a non-profit facility that operates under ownership of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Catholic Diocese. 

“It is important that we have a Catholic retirement and nursing home in Fort Wayne,” says the Most Reverend Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, Bishop of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese. “It is part of the Church’s mission to continue the healing ministry of Jesus. Care for our elderly brothers and sisters is an essential part of our Christian vocation.”

Many people mistakenly think you have to be Catholic to reside at Saint Anne’s, but that is not the case.

“As a Catholic institution, Saint Anne’s has an ecumenical spirit in welcoming and serving people of other churches and faiths,” says Bishop Rhoades. “I have seen this spirit when visiting Saint Anne’s. It is good to see the residents praying together and sharing the beliefs we hold in common.”

The diocese appoints a full-time priest chaplain to Saint Anne’s. There are also several retired priests residing there. Saint Anne’s has a daily Catholic mass in the on-sight chapel and communion is offered every day to those unable to physically attend services. There are also Protestant services every Friday and Sunday afternoon.

“We serve people from all faiths and denominations,” explains Tracy Schultz, director of marketing and residential services. “Regardless of one’s spiritual background, it is always wonderful to see how our residents are uplifted by the Christian atmosphere that Saint Anne Home encompasses. We do believe in the power of prayer; not too many workplaces can claim that. It makes Saint Anne’s unique.”

Saint Anne’s opened its doors in 1967 thanks to the generosity of Geneva Davidson of Fort Wayne. An advocate for the elderly, Davidson left the majority of her estate to the local diocese with specific instructions that the money be used to build a home for the aging in the community.

Davidson was concerned about providing housing for the elderly after a 1960 study by the University of Notre Dame showed Fort Wayne needed more housing options for its senior residents. Saint Anne’s was able to fill in that gap and today serves roughly 275 residents at any given time.

Saint Anne’s has 95 residential apartments for both independent and assisted living, three floors designated for 24-hour care, an adult day program and both in- and out-patient rehabilitation.

“In the residential apartments, you can get as much or as little assistance as you would like,” says Schultz. “We tailor our care to each resident.”

The staff at Saint Anne’s take pride in their work and the care they provide for residents. Many of them consider their co-workers and the residents to be like family.

“We are a family who prays together,” says Haverstick. “It is not uncommon to walk into a resident’s room as that person is close to death and find staff holding hands, surrounding the resident’s bed and praying. This is what makes Saint Anne’s a very special place to be.”