The Vedruna sisters dedicated to health care had their annual meeting on the 8th of February 2025 at Shradhaseri, Mumbai. 20 sisters were present in person, and some others who could not travel made themselves present in virtual mode.
We presented the annual report of all the centers. It was informative and enriching to listen to the others as they presented the activities carried out in each center and it helped us to see the wonderful work we each of us do in different parts of our Indian Province.
Sr. Olinda Patkit, who participated in a training on Geriatric care at St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore, shared with us her experience and some tips to help us in our outlook and attitude towards the elderly. This training focused on enhancing our skills to care for the elderly, fostering dignity, compassion and quality of life; taking care of the elderly in our families, communities, understanding their physical, psychological and spiritual aspect of suffering to accompany them closely.
The session on the treasure within, “Mental Health and community support in religious life”, by Sr. Dr. Sally from the Congregation of Sisters of St. John the Baptist, was very informative and practical. She explained in detail about what is happening in the religious communities regarding mental stress and how we should take care of mental problems; helping and taking care of each other. She also highlighted the importance of Prayer and connectedness with God in Religious life. She stressed on the importance of interconnectedness and harmony with all that God created. She concluded her input session highlighting on the psychological aid: “look, listen and link”. Time was given for interactions from the participants wherein the sisters expressed their concerns. Sr. Dr. Joma CCV, expressed our gratitude to Sr. Dr. Sally for giving us her time and for sharing her knowledge on the importance of taking care of our mental health.
On the second day we had Dr. Joseph Siqueira as the resource person of the day. He being oncologist, a senior consultant, Cancer Surgeon and medical Oncologist at Holy Spirit Hospital, Andheri and TATA Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, was able to give us his insight into the importance of early detection and different diagnostic method, such as biopsies, imaging and blood test for cancer.
