Recently Sister Maggie Fisher wrote to the First Lady and received a letter in return …

Click here to read the full letter.

Community Education Series

Focus on Alzheimer’s Disease and Community Support

Given that an estimated 74,000 Kentuckians currently are living with Alzheimer’s disease and this number will increase dramatically in the next 10 years due to the aging baby boomers entering the age of greatest risk, it is vital we all understand the needs of the individuals and their families who are affected by the disease.

Nazareth Home is committed to supporting the needs of our culture as we age. This series will be hosted and facilitated by a program director and psychologist who lead the dementia care program at Nazareth Home.

The titles and dates of these offerings are from 5:30PM-6:30PM on

Come ask questions, listen, and learn about various topics relating to dementia.

The facilitators are Stephen Bliss, Psy D, clinical geriatric psychologist and the clinical director for Charity Court, the dementia care program at Nazareth Home.

And, Gretchen Houchin, Program Director of Charity Court, support group leader and Alzheimer’s educator.

This event is open to the public and is free, however reservations are requested. Please contact Gretchen Houchin at (502) 473-2396 if you would like to attend.

Nazareth Home — located in Louisville, Kentucky — is a 168 bed long-term care and Rehab center with specialty programs for short term Rehab, Memory Care and long term care.

Nazareth Home was established in 1976 as a healthcare ministry sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.

It’s a harsh reality in many parts of the world, young girls kept from school because they are forced to walk miles each day gathering water for cooking and cleaning, crops that dry up because of a lack of irrigation, and children who fall ill after drinking contaminated water.

UNICEF paints a stark picture when citing lack of sanitar

y water around the world. According to a 2009 article, almost 50 percent of the developing world’s population (2.5 billion people) lack adequate sanitation facilities and over 884 million people still use unsafe drinking water sources. Inadequate access to safe water and sanitation services, coupled with poor hygiene practices, kills and sickens thousands of children every day and leads to impoverishment and diminished opportunities for thousands more.

UNICEF further notes that poor sanitation, water and hygiene, have many other serious repercussions. Children – and particularly girls – are denied their right to education because their schools lack private and decent sanitation facilities. Women are forced to spend large parts of their day fetching water. Poor farmers and wage earners are less productive due to illness, health systems are overwhelmed, and national economies suffer.

In March of 2007, SCNs spoke out about the right of each person to have access to water.

In a Corporate Statement, SCNs call on themselves and others to “support actions that ensure access to sufficient, safe and affordable water for all people, especially women and children in regions suffering currently from scarcity of water.”

From this statement flowed SCN efforts to improve access to safe water for families around the world. In the fall of 2008, five water projects across India and Nepal were funded. The projects included wells, hand pumps, water tanks, water container filtration and education.

SCN family members across the Congregation joined local residents in making decisions and forging ahead with the hard work necessary to carry out the water projects. Numerous hands made lighter work of the manual labor that went into digging the wells in spite of obstacles that included waiting for the ground to dry, an abundance of stones, extreme heat, and lower than anticipated water tables.

Creativity in the form of drawings, essays, and street plays was plentiful as efforts were made to educate as many people as possible on topics ranging from waterborne diseases, to the efficient use of water, to steps to harvest water and improve sanitation.

Though not all projects are complete, improved access and storage for clean drinking water, the ability to irrigate land for crops, having water during the dry season, being able to filter water, and education on health and waterborne diseases have improved countless lives across India and Nepal.

Sister Sarah Ferriell and Sister Pat Worley recently contacted Rick Pitino and the men's Cardinal basketball team at the University of Louisville to wish them well on their 2009–2010 basketball season.

To their surprise, they received a package back from the UofL Athletic Department. Inside were many Louisville Cardinal t-shirts and sweatshirts, plus a note from Rick Pitino, thanking the Sisters for their prayers and letting them know the team appreciates all of their support.

The letter reads: