Three Honored for 50 Years of Service
Photo: From Left to Right, Angie Carpenter, Catholic Health Services of Long Island Continuing Care Board Chairperson and Suffolk County Treasurer, Sr. Kay McCarthy of St. Matthew’s Roman Catholic Church,, Sr. Marilyn Breen, Our Lady of Consolation Geriatric Care Center Administrator and Dennis Verzi, Executive Vice President of the Continuing Care Board (Not pictured- Sr. Bernadette S. Downes)
Angie Carpenter, Suffolk County Treasurer and Board Chairperson for the Continuing Care Division of Catholic Health Services of Long Island presented three board members with Proclamations on January 6, 2010. The Board paused from business to acknowledge Sister Kay McCarthy, Sister Marilyn Breen and Sister Bernadette Downes for their compassion and unwavering dedication to their work and to celebrate as they reached their 50th Jubilee Year.
The Sisters currently serve on the Continuing Care Division Board, which provides leadership for Catholic Home Care, Good Samaritan Nursing Home, Good Shepherd Hospice, Maryhaven Center of Hope, Our Lady of Consolation Geriatric Care Center and St. Catherine of Siena Nursing Home. In addition to serving on the Board, the three women are an inspiration for the significant impact they have had on the community through their many roles and countless contributions.
Sister Marilyn Breen, O.P. has been a member of the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Amityville, New York, for almost 50 years. Upon completion of her term of office in Community Leadership in 1995, she followed in the footsteps of other Dominican Sisters who ministered to the elderly and infirmed at Our Lady of Consolation since it’s founding in 1893 in Amityville.
Sister Marilyn’s background has been in elementary and special education as well as the pioneer in establishing group homes for mentally challenged individuals in Brooklyn. Her interest in this field grew out of a volunteer experience at the Willowbrook State School for the Handicapped. She also worked at the Maryhaven Center of Hope as a Pastoral Minister. The contrast between these two experiences showed her how much is possible for vulnerable persons when people care.
Sister Marilyn began her career at nursing home life in 1995 as an intern, where she learned the in’s and out’s by working directly in all of the various departments. Sister Marilyn became the Assistant Administrator, working along side Sister Joan Cassidy in 1998, and helped to make the 200-bed West Wing extension and specialty communities a reality. Sister Marilyn assumed the role of Senior Vice President/COO in 1999 and was named the Administrator on record in 2003.
Through her direct interaction with the residents entrusted to her and with the staff she so loves, Sr. Marilyn has continued the charismatic legacy handed down to her through the Sisters of St. Dominic more than a century ago.
Sister Kathleen McCarthy, O.P. became a Sister of Saint Dominic on September 6, 1959. She taught both elementary and high school and then went back to school herself for a nursing degree. For many years she was in charge of the Sisters Infirmary in Amityville. She later became the Director of Human Services in Saint Ignatius in Hicksville and is now serving at St. Matthew’s Roman Catholic Church in Dix Hills. In addition to the Catholic Health Services Continuing Care Division Board membership, she also serves on the Bishop’s Advisory Board, the Molloy College Board, and the Our Lady of Consolation Foundation Board.
Sister Bernadette S. Downes, C.I.J., is a native of Brooklyn and entered the Congregation of the Infant Jesus in September 1959. From her initial beginning with the Congregation of the Infant Jesus, she had been involved with the mentally handicapped since 1963. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Joseph’s College and then a Masters of Arts from Fordham University in Administration. She followed up with a special advanced educational psychology degree at Teacher’s College at Columbia University and worked tirelessly in Catholic Charities in the late 1960’s in their program for retarded children, eventually becoming the Associate Director and Coordinator of Programs for the Mentally Retarded in 1970.
In 1984, she took on the role as the Director of the Catholic Charities Office for Disabled Persons. From1990-2000 served as the Director of the Office of Pastoral Services in Catholic Charities until December 2000. Sister Bernadette also served as the elected Councilor of her religious congregation from 1978-1982, and then again in 1998-2002. In January of 2002, she was elected President of the Congregation.
The Continuing Care Division is proud to have these women on their Board and look forward to continuing to benefit from their leadership. For more information on the services of the Catholic Health Services and the Continuing Care Division, visit the website www.chsli.org.