Pink Ladies

On Thursday, Marie had a doctor's appointment. To the casual observer, there's very little new in that. What was new is that it was her first doctor's appointment in Marshall, Texas. Hooray Marshall, Texas!

I let Marie out of the car at the door and parked in the lot. As I came in about five minutes later, I hear this lovely voice cry out, "Hi Pastor!" It was Martha, a Pink Lady at the Good Shepherd Hospital in Marshall.

There is something so great about hearing a friendly voice as I went into the hospital that it made my day. Thanks Martha.

It also got me thinking about Hospital Axillary. One of the traditions of hospital axillary is the pink jackets the ladies would wear at the desk and around the hospital. It sets them off from everyone else with a splash of joyful color. It makes me smile just to think about it.

It also reminds me of something else.

St. John's Hospital in Berryville, Arkansas was once an independent hospital, but for a million reasons it joined with the St. John's Healthcare System out of Springfield, Missouri. Doing so meant that it lost some of its distinctiveness, including the tradition of the pink jacket.

These days, the axillary wears blue jackets and vests, just like every other business person on the face of the earth. There is no change to the ladies, but there is a distinctive loss of the pink jacket. There is a attitude you have with a pink jacket that just doesn't make it past "business blue." It looses the distinctiveness of "Berryville" and makes it ring "St. John's Corporate." Much of the rest of the hospital has also lost its individual distinctiveness and has take on corporate sameness. More's the pity.

So hooray for Pink Ladies. Hooray for Martha! Long may your banner wave!