In Ministry - Stories

Co-workers at St. Rose Dominican Hospitals who were accepted as Adrian Dominican Associates in March 2020 are, from left, Donna Barnes Riggins, Holly Lyman, Teressa Conley, Aimee Moran Yannis, and Natasha Mulroney.
Photo by Thierry Lach
 

October 3, 2024, Henderson, Nevada – Adrian Dominican Associate Holly Lyman calls her current ministry “fun chaos. But it’s the most wonderful job I’ve had. It’s really a calling.”

As Director of Community Health for the eight campuses of St. Rose Dominican Hospitals in Henderson and Las Vegas, Nevada, Holly oversees 119 community health programs, eight centers, about 75 employees, and 100 volunteers. St. Rose Dominican Hospitals was a sponsored institution of Adrian Dominican Sisters until 2019, when sponsorship was transferred to Catholic Health Care Federation.

A native of Utah, Holly has lived “everywhere in the country,” as well as in the Dominican Republic, Trinidad, and Puerto Rico. “My husband was transferred to Las Vegas 35 years ago and we said we’d just stay here for a year – and we’ve been here ever since.”

Working in healthcare all while in Nevada, Holly joined the staff at St. Rose Dominican Hospitals 22 years ago. Sister Molly Nicholson, OP (d. 2023), presented her orientation and served as Holly’s mentor for 10 years. “I immediately knew this was the right job,” Holly said.

Holly became an Associate in March 2020 with four other co-workers at St. Rose Dominican. A pivotal point in her decision to become an Associate, she said, came when Sister Molly blessed her hands on August 23, the Feast of St. Rose of Lima. The ritual “really connected me to that calling,” she said. “When Molly blessed my hands, I felt that healing presence of God. I wanted to continue that wonderful, warm, joyful, caring spirit.”

Holly continues to be inspired by the Adrian Dominican Sisters who minister at St. Rose Dominican Hospitals: Sisters Kathleen “Katie” McGrail, OP, Jean Williams, OP, and Elisabeth Nguyen, OP – as well as by her memories of Sister Molly and Sister Monica Stankus, OP (d. 2016). She also finds inspiration from the Adrian Dominican Sisters who came by train to Henderson in 1947 to establish the hospital. “It’s incredible to think about the courage that those seven women had,” she said, noting their long travel from Michigan and their hard work from the very beginning to set up the hospital and care for the people. 

While preaching is a well-known aspect of the Dominican Charism, Holly believes she has another calling. “My calling is doing, not so much preaching,” she said. “I’m not a big preacher, but I like to go out and do and show the healing presence of God through my service. So that’s what I see as my ministry: direct, hands-on service,” preaching through her ministry.

Holly indeed provides management and hands-on service to the vulnerable people served by Community Health. Her department’s many programs fall into four priorities: food security, through the U.S. nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), her department’s own delivery program to homebound people, and a fruit and vegetable prescription program to make sure people have a nutritious diet; a transportation program, giving 500 homebound seniors rides to doctor’s appointments, the grocery store, the pharmacy, and any other place they need to go; community health workers, who help clients navigate all 21 pathways to health, including food, employment, and safe housing; and chronic diseases, serving patients struggling with conditions such as heart problems, diabetes, HIV, breast cancer, and dementia.

Holly makes the rounds of the various centers served by her program. “I’m in the centers every day,” she said. “I’m out seeing the people. I love to do the rounds and talk to everyone.” 

However, she is primarily responsible for the administration of the many programs, including writing for the grants that support them. Her ministry involves “going out and finding money so we can serve more of the vulnerable,” she said. “The more funding I can get, the more people I can serve and the more employees I can get on staff.”
Holly connects with the Adrian Dominican Sisters and with the 2022 General Chapter Enactments, which include one focused on spirituality. She was especially inspired by Sister Esther Kennedy, OP, who “said we’re living in a time of global chaos and paschal hope,” she noted. “We need that hope to move us along. I feel like the Adrians are that hope. They work so hard to create a really good future that’s filled with hope. I love that and I want to be a part of that.”

 

Left: Associate Holly Lyman speaks at the St. Rose Dominican Hospitals’ opening of the Sahara Center. Right: Members of Associate Holly Lyman’s Community Health Team assemble during the Sahara Center opening, waiting for Sister Kathleen McGrail, OP, to bless their hands.