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September 21, 2018
Mercy to Eliminate Bottled Water Systemwide
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'During her service in the Dominican Republic, Sr. Claudia Ward, rsm, carried water from the river for daily use. She got used to bathing in the river and prayed in thanksgiving after an occasional cold shower.
In advance of its upcoming ban on bottled water, Mercy is installing water bottle filling stations like this one in the Co-worker Fitness Center at Mercy Hospital St. Louis.
She has been inspired by the members of her religious congregation in Central America and the Caribbean, "who remind us of the resources we take for granted." She has joined or prayed for other Sisters of Mercy, who have protested in Detroit over water cutoffs for delinquent utility payments, advocated for those harmed by the lead-tainted water system in Flint, Mich., stood in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and those affected by the Dakota Access Pipeline and accompanied indigenous people in Panama protesting construction of a hydroelectric dam.But the time is now, she says, "to walk the talk right here" in the U.S.
As of October 1, Mercy will eliminate bottled water at all facilities that it owns in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas. This includes cafeterias, vending areas and gift shops. The system also will replace foam cups with paper cups and replace its supply of emergency water in plastic bottles with foil pack water...'
Source: Catholic Health Association of the United States
Messages to: Claudia Ward rsm