St. Luke's Dedicates a Bible in the Foundation of the New Patient Tower

The Woodlands, TX -- A special ceremony was recently held to dedicate a Bible within the foundation of the new patient tower construction site at St. Luke's Community Medical Center (CMC) - The Woodlands.

Just before the foundation was completely poured for the new 91-bed tower, Father Randall Trego of the hospital's Pastoral Care division placed a Bible with a commemorative plaque in the concrete base of this new part of the hospital.

On hand for the event were: Debra Sukin, chief executive officer of St. Luke's CMC - The Woodlands and vice president of St. Luke's Episcopal Health System; Peg Reiter, RN, PhD, Assistant Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer; Kevin Robertson, Director of Operations, who first had the idea for the Bible dedication; Tyrone Roberts, Director of Operations; several volunteer chaplains; and numerous hospital and construction staff.

Father Trego said, "This symbolizes the heart of patient care that will be provided between these two towers. Part of pastoral care is recognizing that spiritual care is an important part of medical care in terms of caring for the whole person - mind, body and spirit. As a Christian hospital, we are built upon the word of God. This special Bible and commemorative plaque is now part of our foundation and therefore underscores our belief and our identity, as we symbolically remember how we are woven together by the fine doctors and staff here at St. Luke's. This tapestry is held together by our core of believing in people for who they are as we love and care for them."

Sukin added, "I am honored to witness this dedication during our time of expansion on our campus. This Bible truly represents our mission here at St. Luke's which is to serve all of God's children through our faith-based hospital. Our gathering is representative of the spiritualization in all that we do every day - our dedication to excellence and compassion in caring - and it is yet one more symbol of what we stand for as an Episcopal hospital."

Sukin went on to commend Father Trego for his pastoral care program, which he spearheaded from the very beginning when the hospital originally opened in 2003. His benchmark volunteer chaplain program now has up to twenty active volunteers for the hospital.

"Father Trego has done an outstanding job of providing a foundation of core support for our organization," said Sukin. "His spiritual guidance has not only impacted our patients and their families tremendously, but it has significantly affected our leadership and administrative team here at St. Luke's as well."

The four-story addition will provide an additional 91 beds, doubling the hospital's capacity.

St. Luke's CMC - The Woodlands is equipped with the most up-to-date facilities and offers a comprehensive heart program, including diagnosis, treatment, diagnostic and interventional cardiology and cardiovascular surgery. Physicians are community-based, board-certified cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons.

St. Luke's Community Medical Center - The Woodlands is located at 17200 St. Luke's Way in The Woodlands, at the southwest corner of SH 242 and I-45. For more information, please call (936) 266-2000 or visit the hospital's Web site.