Sunday, November 21, 1999
Mission's founder brings new vision to health care
BY KAREN SAMPLES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — Six years ago, Sandy Rasmussen said she had seen the Blessed Virgin in a Falmouth field. Thousands of people were drawn to the spot, even as skeptics questioned her sincerity.
Today, attention has switched to Norwood, where another woman claims to have visions of Mary. Those who once flocked to Falmouth now make pilgrimages to Ohio.
Mrs. Rasmussen, 53, isn't among them. Her visions were part of a personal spiritual journey, she says, and she never wanted the limelight.
Skeptics can doubt whether Christ's mother would touch down on a Falmouth farm. But they cannot deny this: At 1543 Russell St. in Covington, a modest brick home sparkles with the newness of its rehabilitation.
Outside, a sign says “Mary Rose Mission.” Inside, women with firm handshakes and warm smiles scurry to get ready for their first residents. At the center of the activity is Mrs. Rasmussen, a soft-spoken, suburban homemaker who now ministers to the sick and dying.
Her visions stopped in 1995, she says. Through word of mouth and friends in the priesthood, she already had been visiting sick people and praying with them. The next step seemed natural: She would open a home for those with just a few months to live.
Mary Rose Mission is a non-profit organization with no paid staff and a board comprised of Mrs. Rasmussen's friends and supporters. It de pends solely on donations.
One man contributed $40,000 to purchase the home, which had been gutted. Twenty-eight companies and 66 individuals donated materials or labor toward the renovations.
Kitchen cabinets and appliances, bathrooms, electrical wiring, air conditioning and floor coverings were installed. A Girl Scout troop came by with food and other dry goods to stock the pantry.
The mission's newsletter goes to 2,000 Greater Cincinnatians; they form the base of a remarkable network. When help is needed, word goes out to the friends of friends, and eventually, someone arrives to hang drywall or pour concrete through the basement window.
Mary Rose Mission hopes to begin accepting residents in February. The intention is to care for four individuals at a time, each with less than three months to live. They will not be charged for their stay.
“We want to do what we'd do for our own mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters in our own homes,” Mrs. Rasmussen says.
Medical care will not be provided, other than “small comfort measures,” she says. But residents undoubtedly will be taking pain medication, and the mission expects some to be in wheelchairs.
This makes the home's official status unclear. It's registered as a group home with the city, Mrs. Rasmussen says. But if people are using wheelchairs or taking drugs, a state license also may be necessary.
Mrs. Rasmussen hopes to avoid this. She won't be seeking any government funding, so government oversight shouldn't be necessary, she says. However, she will spend the next few months consulting with volunteer attorneys to make sure the law is followed.
“That's the way it's been since we started with it,” says Rod Bryson of Villa Hills, a semi-retired lawyer whose wife volunteers at the home. “We've had difficult things we've had to overcome, and we did.
“Sandy reminds me of Mother Teresa. She's got things she wants to do for people, and the only way to do them is to start.”
Before all this, Mrs. Rasmussen was a stay-at-home mom in Villa Hills, then a health-unit coordinator at Christ Hospital.
In 1992, a voice told her to go to St. Joseph's Church in Cold Spring, she says. It was too compelling to ignore.
While at the church, Mrs. Rasmussen met a farmer from Falmouth, who invited her and a few others to visit his land. That's where she first saw the apparition. For several years, she returned each month to pray and receive messages from Mary.
“She would be so totally absorbed by it that you couldn't really communicate with her,” says Vivian Turton, a Villa Hills neighbor.
Today, Mrs. Turton is one of the faithful, helping her friend open what may be the first hospice home in Kentucky.
“There's absolutely a big need for such a place,” says Judy Schneider, the nursing manager for St. Elizabeth Hospital's hospice unit.
St. Elizabeth's has eight beds for the terminally ill, but they are reserved for short-term treatment of medical complications. Once patients are stabilized, they return home.
Those without family usually end up in nursing homes, Ms. Schneider says. This isn't ideal, because the homes aren't geared toward making people comfortable at the end of their lives. Elderly patients often do not receive enough pain medication, although the industry is trying to improve, Ms. Schneider says.
For six years, St. Elizabeth's has been looking for ways to open a hospice home in Northern Kentucky, she says. Cincinnati has several, but Kentucky lacks a licensing category for this type of care, Ms. Schneider says.
This was news to Mrs. Rasmussen, who simply felt called to care for the dying.
She's counting on God to assist with the details. She believes He already has.
After the home was purchased, the mission encountered a significant obstacle. Zoning regulations most likely wouldn't allow it to open, said Ralph Hopper, Covington's zoning administrator at the time.
After learning more about the project, Mr. Hopper changed his mind. The zoning approval was grant ed.
Here's what thrilled Mrs. Rasmussen: While researching the property, Mr. Hopper consulted a map from 1910. It identified this particular parcel with an “m” - the symbol for “mission.”
Years ago in the same house, somebody else had the same idea.
Karen Samples is Kentucky columnist for the Enquirer. Her column appears Thursdays and Sundays. She can be reached at 578-5584, or by e-mail at ksamples@enquirer.com .
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