May 28, 1999

MGHers gathered to say goodbye to Sister Sheila Hammond, director of the MGH Chaplaincy, May 12 in the Trustees Room. Hammond is leaving her MGH post to join a five-person leadership team for the Religious of the Sacred Heart, the Roman Catholic order in which she has been a member for 25 years.

With an international membership of 6,000, the order has 600 members in the United States. Hammond will help guide the order in fulfilling its educational and social justice mission, facilitating ministry projects and fostering recruitment programs.

After spending five years at the MGH co-directing the Chaplaincy along with Rev. Mary Martha Thiel, Hammond says she finds it difficult to say goodbye. "It has been a wonderful experience here for me, and I've learned so much from patients, families and staff," says Hammond. "A piece of my heart is broken."

From left, Hammond says goodbye to Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, MS,
senior vice president for Patient Care Services and chief nurse, and Thiel.