What's Happening

April 13, 2020, Maywood, Illinois – Adrian Dominican Sister Xiomara Méndez-Hernández, OP, as part of the chaplaincy team at Loyola University Medical Center, is finding new ways to be with patients who are dying of COVID-19, the new coronavirus, and with their families. The chaplains make every effort to ensure that patients don’t die alone – even if they have to speak to them from the hall outside of the room – and that families can speak to their dying loved ones. “I think I’ve never prayed so much in my whole life,” Sister Xiomara told Kate Thayer of The Chicago Tribune. Read the entire article on the compassionate ministry of the chaplains in dealing with COVID-19 patients and their families.

April 9, 2020, Detroit – How much should one exercise to stay healthy during this uncertain time of the COVID-19 pandemic? Sister Mariane Fahlman, OP, PhD, Professor of Kinesiology, Health, and Sports Science at Wayne State University, Detroit, answered that question during a radio interview on National Public Radio’s WOSU. She and her Wayne State colleague, Tamara Hew-Butler, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Exercise and Sports Science, recommend moderate exercise up to three days per week – enough to boost one’s immune system without causing exhaustion. Sister Mariane made her recommendation based on her years of research into the physiological effects of exercise and her recent research of studies from China, which first experienced COVID-19. 

Listen to her interview on exercise during the pandemic, and read the article written by Sister Mariane and her colleague.