Since their childhood, the close-knit Loehr sisters have cherished their family time and values together.
Now grown, the sisters are still together. Sometimes only a few hospital rooms or floors separate three of them as they care for patients at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis; the fourth serves at Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph, both part of Ascension Kansas.
The sisters – Amy Unruh, Mary Garcia, Sarah Low and Lisa Wooding – didn’t grow up in a healthcare family. Their father was a locksmith and their mother devoted her time to caring for them.
“So it’s funny we all ended up here,” said Amy, who is the oldest and was the first to join Ascension Via Christi when she began work 16 years ago. “I’ve loved helping patients from day one and I connect with co-workers like they’re also my sisters.”
As a radiation technologist, Amy works in Radiology at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis. “I like knowing that my sisters and I all have the same outlook and values and that I positively influenced their decisions to work here,” she said.
Mary, who is second oldest, has served at Ascension Via Christi for three and a half years as a registered nurse. “Seeing Amy live out our family’s values at work was reason enough to get involved and keep it in the family,” she said.
She started out as a patient care tech at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis but now serves as a registered nurse in the Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit. “Working in the ED (Emergency Department) always made me want to see patients’ progress after they left so now I get the chance to do that in Behavioral Health,” Mary said.
The other two Loehr sisters, Sarah and Lisa, look so much alike that they are often mistaken for each other in the third-floor halls of Ascension Via Christi St. Francis. where they both have served for the past five years after earning their nursing degrees at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas.
“We’ve always got along and have done a lot together, but this has challenged us in a good way,” said Sarah, who serves in the Regional Burn Center and adjacent Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Lisa, who serves in the Burn Center, said their schedules brought them even closer, “We’ve all personally learned firsthand that nursing and a perfect 9-to-5 schedule don’t mix,” she said, laughing. “We understand patient care needs don’t stop when it comes to holidays and other important dates.”
Working together has revealed the pair’s strengths as co-workers and teammates. “I can always trust Sarah to lend a helping hand or give advice when I need it,” Lisa said. “We sometimes have that sister sense when the other needs help or is having a tough day.”
It’s also taught all four sisters valuable lessons about flexibility, growing through service and putting patients first. They can all agree on one thing: Working in an organization with family-first values helps put the family first.
Said Sarah: “Through all the changes and things we’ve each had to learn, our co-workers, values and sisterhood help us see the importance of patience and understanding with each other and those in our care.”
