Every year on March 30 our nation’s doctors are celebrated for the remarkable work they do in healing the sick and infirm. A handful of Maryknollers from the Society, Congregation, and Association have decided to focus their mission work on bringing quality healthcare to those in the world with little or no access to it. Below please take a moment to learn about three such individuals.
Maryknoll’s connection to the medical field can be traced all the way back to the very first Lay Missioner, Dr. Henry Blaber. In China, Dr. Blaber opened the Tung On dispensary in the early 1930s that soon housed a clinic, surgery, pharmacy, and a six bed ward.
Maryknoll Sister Dorothy Erikson graduated from Marquette University with a medical degree in 1951 and soon after was assigned to work in Guatemala. There she helped to found a fifty bed hospital, a school of nursing, and a nutrition center.
Lastly, Maryknoll Father John Bergwall, missioned in Shinyanga, Tanzania established a hostel for Hansen’s Disease patients.
These three Maryknoll missioners, along with other Maryknollers who served their mission through medical work, should be remembered for all that they did in order to help their patients.
