Clare Pratt, RSCJ, Director of the Oakwood RSCJ Community (left) with Susan Perkins, Administrator of Oakwood.

Two new positions at the Oakwood retirement community for Religious of the Sacred Heart in Atherton, California, have been announced by Paula Toner, RSCJ, Provincial, and the U.S. Provincial Team. On January 18, 2010, Susan Perkins became Administrator of Oakwood, and in February, Clare Pratt, RSCJ, will become Director of the Oakwood RSCJ Community.

The new administrative structure at Oakwood is designed to put the provision of care into the hands of professionals who are familiar with “best practices” in healthcare, while also providing ongoing support for community life as integral to the Society of the Sacred Heart.

Ms. Perkins brings twenty-five years of professional experience to the position of Administrator of Oakwood and will be responsible for the management of the facility, as required by the Society’s Eldercare Plan of 2005. Her background includes high-level eldercare management at Atria Willow Glen Senior Living in San Jose, California, a facility three times the size of Oakwood, and extensive experience in finance. She received her Business degree from the University of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, in 1985 and her Residential Care Facility of the Elderly (RCFE) License in 2009. She has had managerial experience with Silver Threads Service, a not-for-profit organization that operated four Senior Service Centers in Vancouver, Canada; and, having worked on many management and leadership teams, she has a collaborative style of leadership.

Most importantly, Ms. Perkins has a love of the elderly - as well as the mission of the Society. She even has a history with Sacred Heart schools: from 1986 to 1992, she served as Business Administrator at the Sacred Heart School of Halifax, where one of her many duties included development and implementation of the health benefits package.

As Director of the Oakwood RSCJ Community, Sister Pratt will be responsible for the quality of religious and community life for the RSCJ at Oakwood, for their relationships with Sacred Heart family members, and for their connections with the wider community of friends both in Atherton/Menlo Park and throughout the United States and the world. Sister Pratt’s own discernment has led her to embrace this new ministry to serve the Society again, as she has done so many times before, as a community builder, leader, and provider of spiritual support.

Her breadth of experience -- including four years as Provincial of the Washington Province, five years on the U.S. Provincial Team, six years as Secretary General of the Society of the Sacred Heart, eight years as Superior General of the Order, six years as Principal at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Houston, and a global immersion in other cultures – will inform and enrich the Oakwood community’s life.

Commenting on their new roles at a meeting in St. Louis on January 28, Ms. Perkins and Sister Pratt said they looked forward to working together - and would both be doing a lot of listening!

Heartfelt appreciation is given at this time to Marie-Louise (Bunny) Flick, RSCJ, whose generous service to RSCJ elders has spanned both Kenwood and Oakwood during the last five and one-half years.

With respect to Sister Flick’s years of generous ministry to RSCJ elders, Sister Toner said: “As Director of Pax Christi at Kenwood, she supported the transition of our sisters from Kenwood to Teresian House; then, as Director of Oakwood, Bunny’s efforts made it possible for our sisters to return to Oakwood from Our Lady of Fatima Villa. We are all deeply grateful to Bunny, for providing excellent quality of care at Oakwood and for her loving service during these eventful years.”