Over 100 years ago, a group of religious sisters arrived in Florida with a Mission: serve those in need, especially the poor and vulnerable.
They founded what would become Ascension Sacred Heart and Ascension St. Vincent's. They worked as nurses, social workers and leaders at a time when women rarely held such roles. They built hospitals. They built communities. They built a legacy.
This Women's History Month, we're reflecting on what they started and how our associates carry it forward every day. Their spirit of service lives on in the work over 13,000 associates do and in the women who serve across Ascension Florida. Here are a few examples:
- Kelly Rozier, a nurse and program manager at Ascension Sacred Heart's Community Outreach Center, consistently goes above and beyond to find the gaps, providing critical assistance to our most vulnerable patients. From food to medication, housing, and so many other needs, Kelly finds a way to get people help, even well after they are no longer patients at Sacred Heart.
- Kelly Davies, women’s OB outpatient director for Ascension Sacred Heart, leads the new regional Telehealth Maternity Care Program, connecting new and expecting mothers in Northwest Florida to the resources they need before and after childbirth.
- Linsey Hall, lead care manager for MyGULFCare at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast, supports community members living with chronic illnesses. She and her team complete about 600 screenings per month at a local food bank to identify people who need their help. Her impact in Walton County earned her the Outstanding Partner Award from the Walton Community Health Improvement Partners group, led by the Florida Department of Health in Walton County.
- Shanna Forehand, stroke coordinator at Ascension Sacred Heart Bay, has helped the team earn the American Heart Association's Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines Stroke Award. She also played a key role in adding neurothrombectomy services, contributing to one of the hospital's best Joint Commission surveys as a primary stroke center.
- Kelly Beach, administrator and chief nursing officer at Ascension Sacred Heart Gulf, has led tremendous growth over the past three years. Under her leadership, the hospital has earned Performance Achievement Awards from The Chartis Center for Rural Health for two consecutive years. She established partnerships with Port St. Joe High School for training in phlebotomy and reading EKGs and secured private donations for a women's center with 3D mammography and upgraded ultrasound. She also obtained more than $1 million through Florida's Rural Hospital Capital Improvement Program grants to improve patient care, safety and comfort.
- Willie Roberts, Ascension St. Vincent’s Community Outreach-Faith Nursing manager, leads numerous community benefit campaigns, including Brighter Beginnings, a free program aimed at reducing infant mortality.
- Lorrie Sarver, Director of Emergency Services for Ascension St. Vincent’s Southside and St. Johns County, leads pop-up community clinics that deliver care and prescriptions at no cost to underserved communities across Northeast Florida.
- Tabitha Kinney, a nurse manager at Ascension St. Vincent’s St. Johns County, established a food pantry at the hospital after her own early experience with food insecurity, helping others facing similar hardships.
- Sara Burk, an OR nurse at Ascension St. Vincent’s Riverside, uses her passion for fishing to give back. She's hosted two fishing tournaments, raising tens of thousands of dollars for the American Heart Association and a young cancer patient, with a third tournament planned to benefit V for Victory.
- Coleen Rickey, Ascension St. Vincent's Mobile Outreach Health Ministry Manager, leads a team that sets up clinics at churches and schools across Jacksonville to serve residents who lack access to care. Through donations to Ascension St. Vincent's Foundation, the ministry treated 10,000 patients, filled about 3,500 prescriptions at no cost and delivered $2.7 million in care.
