On Friday, May 24, 2024, Trinity Health System observed EMS Week and celebrated our first responders by hosting the “Blessing of the Rigs” at 11 a.m in front of the new Trinity Health System tower (4000 Johnson Road, Steubenville).
Bishop Paul J. Bradley, apostolic administrator of Steubenville, provided the blessing of local EMS personnel and the rigs they drive. A cookout followed the ceremony.
Our thanks to the media organizations who covered this event. Below is a sampling of their coverage.
***
WTRF: A prayer for healing during EMS Week at Trinity’s Blessing of the Rigs
It was an appeal for safety, for healing, and above all else strength in the face of danger.
The Blessing of the Rigs brought first responders and medical workers to Trinity West Hospital, for a special prayer by Steubenville Bishop Paul Bradley.
They and their trucks were sprinkled with holy water for the second year in a row during EMS Week.
Patient Safety Director Staci Trudo says police, fire and medical transport work isn’t separate from what’s being done inside Trinity…They’re just different parts of one life-saving partnership.
“They bring patients in to us here at the hospital, but they’re also support to us. They’ll help us when they get here. They’re always friendly. The patients love them and they’re they’re really a part of our team. We’re one team.” – STACI TRUDO, DIRECTOR, PATIENT SAFETY AND RISK
“When we ask God’s blessing upon them, we we’re asking them to really be sharing in God’s role of trying to bring healing to all of us. Healing from sin, healing from anything that separates us from him.” – BISHOP PAUL BRADLEY, DIOCESE OF STEUBENVILLE
You can read/watch this story in its entirety by clicking here.
***
WTOV: Blessing of the Rigs: Local first responders celebrated during EMS week
“We just want to know how much we appreciate them in the emergency room, let alone in our community; how they’re there for all the emergencies,” Amy Lindsay, a clinical manager in the ER at Trinity, said. “They’re there for any simple need. We just want them to know how thankful and grateful we are to have them.”
In Jefferson and Belmont counties, EMS officials have seen an increase in 911 calls within the last few months. Lindsay said that alone is a reason to say “thanks.”
To read/watch this story in its entirety, please click here.
***
Herald-Star: Trinity invites blessing on EMS personnel
BLESSED — A portion of emergency medical services personnel gathered at Trinity Medical Center West Friday received a blessing from Bishop Paul Bradley of the Catholic Diocese of Steubenville Friday. — Christopher Dacanay
Providing critical care while transporting patients to medical facilities, EMTs and paramedics numbered nearly 300,000 in 2019, according to the National Institute of Health.
In addition to praying over and blessing the personnel and their vehicles with blessed water, Bradley blessed religious objects distributed to the personnel: Visor clips depicting St. Michael the Archangel, patron saint of first responders; rosary bracelets and Franciscan crosses.
EMS personnel were treated to a cookout after the blessing.
Bradley, who has been serving as the Steubenville diocese’s apostolic administrator since September, said he’s “thrilled” to be a part of Trinity’s EMS week commemoration.
“This is really the first time in all my years that I’ve had this kind of a privilege to be able to have this kind of a blessing for those of you who are so integral, so important for the life of every community and this community in particular. You really are the lifesavers, and you’re the ones who — wherever there’s a problem — are always the first ones there.
“I’m very, very grateful to all of you for your selflessness. It really is something that is a part of, from our faith perspective, what we’re all called to do: To give our lives for others.”
Matt Grimshaw, Trinity’s president and CEO, said to personnel: “The work you do is sacred. You are dealing with people at their lowest, most broken point. Long before we (the hospital) ever see them, you’re the hands and feet of everything we do, and nothing is accomplished without doing this together. So, thank you, guys, for what you do every day. Thank you for helping us carry out our mission by what you do.”
To read this story in its entirety, please click here.
(Photo at the top courtesy of WTRF.)