Leslie Rowe and Christle Loudermilk Named Team Hot Springs Service Heroes

Sometimes the people that we encounter in our hospitals in need of care, aren’t patients at all. Still we are called to minister to those in need. That is just what Leslie Rowe and Christle Loudermilk did, they ministered to a distraught grandfather in need, even though he wasn’t a patient.

An elderly gentlemen wandered into our hospital in Hot Springs looking for the chapel and Leslie, a speech therapist, assisted him to the chapel and contacted Christle to reach out to Fr. Michael. The man, who was not a patient and had no family or friends in the hospital, simply needed a place to pray following a family tragedy. Leslie and Christle stayed in the chapel with the man, comforting him until Fr. Michael arrived. The elderly man shared openly about the family tragedy and how much he appreciated our ministry. He said that he had been to three churches that afternoon, two were closed and ladies at the third asked him to leave. He then went to a competitor hospital hoping to find comfort in their chapel, but said he stood outside the chapel crying and no one stopped to see if he was okay. Then he came to us. He said that Leslie and Christle’s kindness and willingness to spend time with him made all the difference. He was able to grieve in a safe, loving space, supported by people that cared.

Thank you Leslie and Christle, for reminding us that true compassion goes beyond scores or metrics, it comes from an open heart.