“Ismelda’s unwavering faith has always played a key role in her help to patients and their families in their time of need”
Sometimes, the weary, sick and dying receive immense comfort in the reaffirmation of God’s love that comes from unexpected sources. Numerous patients and their families at CHI St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital have received that type of support from a devout and loving housekeeper who barely speaks English.
Despite being faced with a language barrier, Ismelda clearly communicates a message of God’s infinite love to those in need.
Ismelda’s unwavering faith has helped patients and their families in their time of need. Ismelda finds that the Holy Spirit channels the appropriate English words through her so she can get God’s message across during these important moments.
Ismelda believes her current role allows her to make a difference for others while also sharing her faith. Born in Mexico, Ismelda had a hard life during her early years. This experience informed her appreciation for God’s love and mercy. She credits her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother for serving as role models of how to be a strong woman who devotes her life to God.
Eventually, Ismelda and her husband made their way to the United States in 1984. She initially ironed clothes for work before joining CHI St. Joseph Health in 2000. She continued to work both jobs over a nine-year period before devoting herself to her hospital employment. She also became a naturalized U.S. citizen a little over a decade ago. Now Ismelda’s two daughters – Juanita and Angela – also work at CHI St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital and look up to their mother as their role model for how to be a dedicated employee and servant of God in the workplace.
Whether helping patients or mentoring the daughters, I know Ismelda is committed to helping each person live in faith. “Only you can live your life; no one else can do it for you,” she said through a translator. “You’ve got to live your life day to day with confidence in God. When you get out of your bed, you are in the hands of Jesus. It’s going to be challenging to live day to day like that, so you have to ask God for His help to live through His plans.”