St. Mary's Hospital donates to Catholic Charities for storm, flooding aid

St. Mary's Hospital has donated $25,000 to Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri's Disaster Relief Fund to help survivors of the tornado in Jefferson City and Eldon, as well as people affected by flooding.

Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City and Sister Kathleen Wegman of the School Sisters of Notre Dame met with Mike Baumgartner, regional president of SSM Health Mid-Missouri, on June 19 to accept the donation.

"Working together to maximize resources with a like-minded partner such as Catholic Charities helps us to fulfill our mission," Baumgartner said in a Tuesday news release from SSM Health Mid-Missouri.

"The need in our community continues, and we hope this donation helps," Baumgartner added.

St. Mary's Hospital and Catholic Charities will hold community discussions July 18 and July 19 in Jefferson City and Eldon, respectively, to address mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder in the aftermath of a disaster. The discussions are free and open to the public. For more information, call 573-681-3743.

The Catholic Charities Disaster Relief Fund accepts donations to assist flood and storm victims at diojeffcity.org or cccnmo.org. Checks may be sent to Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri, P.O. Box 104626, Jefferson City, Missouri, 65110.