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10/03/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

An experience with a Saint

While I was off in Santa Fe, on the very day of my birthday, there was a reunion of people whose common bond was past employment at Saint Mary’s Health Center. I would happily have been there if I wasn’t happily present in New Mexico. I have seen pictures of the occasion and recognized faces I haven’t seen for a very long time. I’ve also talked to two of my closest friends who were able to attend and raved about what a good time it was.

The year was 1987. I had been a part of opening an extensive Psychiatric service at Saint Anthony’s Medical Center, and ran the nursing operations at the Psych Center for four years. One day I got a call from a colleague who had moved on from Saint Anthony’s. He told me that he had recommended me for a new position at Saint Mary’s Health Center, and that I might get a call from there.

Before too long, I did get a call and went for an interview with two people who would become my bosses at that venerable institution. One was Joan Strahinic, the director of nurses. The other was Toni Garrison, in charge of programming. I thought the interview went well. The questions were reasonable, and the participants friendly. They told me I would hear from them soon because they were anxious to get started with a new project.

All I really knew about the Psychiatric service there was that it was definitely run by the Psychiatrists. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that but what was facing Saint Mary’s was the need to keep up with the times. Other psych services were starting to offer a variety of treatment options that included other professionals like psychologists. The Psychiatrists were being asked to open their practice patterns in the hospital and allow a variety of professionals to participate in treatment modalities. 

I started at Saint Mary’s during the Summer of 1987. My first responsibility, after a stint in Human Resources being oriented to the SSM way, was to meet with the Head Nurses of the Psychiatric units and the contracted Chemical Dependency unit. What I encountered was a group of women who were ready for a change. However, they warned me, the staff members might be more of a challenge, as would many of the Psychiatrists. After all, things had been the same for years and many people were leery of any change that would affect their routine.

In my personal life I was going through a series of changes of my own. Before the Summer was over, I would file for divorce, move out of our home and buy a place of my own, give up partial custody of my children, and begin a challenging job. My Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale score put me in line for a health crisis. My crisis arrived that October, with the onset of a serious episode of depression and anxiety. I had never experienced such a thing in my life. This disease lasted for three very tough years until a new drug, Prozac, was prescribed for me and I finally got some relief. During those years I got very little sleep at night and had to fight my way through most days. 

At Saint Mary’s the core group of nurse managers worked faithfully as we gradually introduced new staff professionals and treatment modalities. The decision was made to end our contract with the Chemical Dependency program and offer the program ourselves. The staff on that unit was well prepared to handle this change. I hired a new manager for the Recreational and Occupational and Music therapy programs. She joined our group of change-makers and began the task of updating and streamlining the services. She and I were not popular for a time, and had to answer to the CEO, Sister Betty, after a staff member went to her and complained bitterly about the changes that were being made.

It is 38 years later and Saint Mary’s is a memory of an important time in my nursing career. I learned so much about the business of running a behavioral medicine service, and how to facilitate changes that were not popular at first, but ultimately resulted in a treatment program that rivaled any other. 

However, the most precious outcome of all is the friendships that have lasted all these years. Vicki and Mary Ann and I still get together as often as we can. We do spend some time talking about the “old days”, but mostly we celebrate the fact that we laugh together, sometimes lament together, and support each other when it is needed. We are each growing older, gracefully, I might add. 

I’m sorry to have missed the Saint Mary’s reunion, where 100 people joined together. I hope another one is planned and I will be there for sure!