Sister Anna Marino, RN, CPCE, CPE; Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital
Homeless and pregnant, uneducated and unwanted—except by Sister Anna Marino. When these women have nowhere else to go, Marino takes them in, cares for
them, and teaches them how to care for their kids and themselves.
A Missionary Sister of the Holy Rosary since 1958, Marino teaches prenatal care, childbirth and parenting at Mothers’ Home, a program run by Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital. Women stay at Mothers’ Home for six months after they give birth. Counselors work with them to find homes, jobs and educational programs. “The goal is to support these women and help them find another way of life,” says Marino.
A nurse and midwife, Marino has served at-risk pregnant women in Ireland, Scotland, Kenya and Nigeria. Now 80 years old, she shrugs off retirement.
“Not when there’s work to do,” she says.