Healthcare workers gather for retreat, annual Mass

Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre thanked medical professionals for their service to the community, telling them that they “assist people at a time that can be very, very frightening, when people can feel very much alone when they are facing illness.”

He addressed medical professionals and their families at the Cathedral of the Assumption, 433 S. Fifth St., Nov. 15 during the annual Healthcare Professionals Mass. Two deacons with careers in healthcare — Deacon Scott Hedges and Deacon Craig Roberts — assisted at the Mass.

The newly formed Louisville chapter of the Catholic Medical Association offered a retreat before the Mass this year. It featured talks by Bellarmine philosophy professor Dr. William Kenney and Father Kirby Rust, pastor of St. Bernadette Church.

Dr. Eliot Bassett, a physician and president of the local chapter of the Catholic Medical Association, said the retreat offered the attendees the opportunity to look at their work through a Catholic perspective.

“There are a lot of forces in healthcare that make it difficult to practice, but they can never remove the dignity of taking care of people. There’s something very special about taking care of people — no matter what obstacles you face, that’s always there. And that’s what motivates me, and most of us.”

— Dr. Anthony (Tony) George

“Ultimately, God changes everything. And when you live from that perspective, you start living for the other; you’re not living for yourself,” he said.

Dr. Anthony (Tony) George, a surgeon who attended the Mass and retreat, said the gatherings provided an opportunity for physicians to reflect on the dignity of the patients they serve. 

“It’s always important to remind us of the dignity of taking care of people and the role that we play in those lives,” he said. “There are a lot of forces in healthcare that make it difficult to practice, but they can never remove the dignity of taking care of people. 

“There’s something very special about taking care of people — no matter what obstacles you face, that’s always there,” he said. “And that’s what motivates me, and most of us.”