Nun-nurses bring health care and more to Pennsylvania's rural poor

Published: 2005-05-24

PITTSBURGH (CNS) -- Linger for a second too long near Vincentian Sister Sarah Geier and she's likely to slap a blood pressure cuff on your arm. The longtime nurse, now working in rural health ministry in Pennsylvania's Fayette County, finds this is a nonthreatening way to entice people into learning more about their health. Residents have come to know her. "They say, 'Here comes Sister with her blood pressure gauge,'" she said with a laugh. That familiarity is important. It helps to build trust. "Many people have a fear of doctors, but if you start talking to them, helping them to learn to take care of themselves, you make a difference in their lives," she told the Pittsburgh Catholic, newspaper of the Pittsburgh Diocese. Sister Sarah is one of five sisters staffing Rendu Services, a mission of the Daughters of Charity that aids the poor and marginalized throughout Fayette County. A member of the Vincentian Sisters of Charity, Sister Sarah works with four Daughters of Charity.

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