Dear Friends of 8th Day and Jean Hughes, OP

 Many of you have asked about a local memorial for Jean. Bob Dougherty,

long time friend and former Director of St. Leonard's where Jean worked

after she left 8th Day, and his sister Grace Dougherty, OP have planned the

Memorial. We hope many of you can attend, as well as help us spread the

word to others you know who would want to attend. Here is the information.

*When*: Saturday, February 7th at 11:00a.m.

*Where*: Sat., Feb. 7th - 11a.m. at St. Malachy's Church (2248 W.

Washington);

*The "formal" Memorial in Church at 11:00 am followed by an "informal"

Gathering (with food) in the school/right next door at, we assume, Noon.*

Hope to see many of you to celebrate Jean's life among us.

Gratefully, Kathleen

Kathleen Desautels, SP

As we begin 2015, I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. Norwegian American Hospital is looking forward to a great year that will solidify many of the gains we were able to accomplish in 2014 and prior years as well.  

In the New Year, we are turning our focus to innovation and making our hospital the best place for patients to receive care, for physicians to practice and for employees to work. Throughout our history, Norwegian American Hospital's commitment has remained steadfast to improve our community's health and quality of life. This commitment means that we strive to bring the latest advances in medical technology to our community.

In an effort to seek new information regarding the latest medical technology, Dr. Abha Agrawal was asked to lead the charge to refine and identify opportunities for innovation. Along with her newly formed committee, the group presented three new innovation initiatives: Patient Portal; Nurse Patient Communication Solution; and Physician Communication Solution.

My vision for this year is to be a leading model of innovation, collaboration and community health care, and really set us apart from other safety net hospitals.  

Norwegian American Hospital has set our goal to be the number one hospital in innovation in the city of Chicago. We are working out the details and look forward to rolling out these initiatives in 2015.

Our success will depend on our staff embracing these initiatives. Their engagement is critical for the implementation and sustainability of this new vision for Norwegian American Hospital.

Regards,

José R. Sánchez

On Wednesday January 7, Youth Guidance support group B.A.M (Becoming A Man) took a group of 18 sophomore and junior boys to the Bulls vs. Jazz game.  As BAM counselor Brandon Bailys was making final plans, CPS cancelled school for the next day due to extreme low temperatures.  The young men in BAM expressed interest in attending the trip anyway, and Mr. Bailys was able to make it possible.

At the United Center, students entered through the "press/media" door to walk straight through to the court before the players hit the floor.  After a meet-and-greet with the team's officials and a quick group picture with Joakim Noah, a few students got the chance to be interviewed by ESPN: Demetrius Crespo, Ruben Gonzalez, Charly Sandoval, Jose Arce and Anthony Berdecia.

Once the game finished, they made their way down to the court to "check out" (a process that the BAM group uses to sum up their experience in group for the day).  As students were waiting to get started, Joakim Noah walked out with this huge smile on his face and called, "What's up BAM?!"  He connected with the students by showing his BAM bracelet, which he wears in all of his games, and spoke about the game and BAM's core principles.

Clemente student Jorge Miranda then challenged him with, "If I dunk on you, can I get season passes?"  Noah invited the entire group to the court for more pictures and to shoot around.  At first, the students underestimated the NBA size rim so Noah offered, "Next person who shoots a three - I got tickets to the next game for them."  Twenty shots later, sophomore Steven Fitts made the lucky basket, receiving floor-side seats to this past Saturday's game against Charlotte Bobcats.

Finally, everyone on the court circled up to put the trip into perspective during BAM check-out.  "I feel blessed for this opportunity," Peirce McWilliams shared.  Giovanni Espinosa added, "I never thought this is something I would ever be doing.  All in all, this was an experience that none of us here at Clemente will ever forget.

Special Thanks to the Chicago Bulls, and to Joakim Noah, for supporting our kids!