November 10, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jennifer Roseman, Director of Communications & Development
(509) 474-2395 or (509) 994-5032
For photo availability, contact Jennifer Roseman
The Sisters of Providence will present the 2006 Mother Joseph Award in December to a retired registered nurse who has been a volunteer bringing health care resources to residents of Guardian Angel Parish and school in Pacoima, CA, for the past five years.
Jenny Rosales, RN, has been instrumental in linking institutions like UCLA and the Alzheimer’s Association with the residents of low-income housing project in one of the poorest areas of the San Fernando Valley. Through her efforts, the residents have access to everything from diabetic screening and treatment, glaucoma testing and free mammograms to dementia testing and education and free medical care.
She will receive the 2006 Mother Joseph Award, named in honor of Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart, the first provincial superior of the Sisters of Providence in the West. The award is given to a person who “exemplifies the values and courage of Mother Joseph.” The award is presented by the provincial superior and the Leadership Team on behalf of all the Sisters of Providence in Mother Joseph Province, which includes Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Montana and El Salvador.
Jenny Rosales will receive her award at a reception at 11 a.m. Friday, December 1, at Guardian Angel Church, 10886 Lehigh Avenue, in Pacoima. Another reception will be held at 2 p.m. the same day at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, 15031 Rinaldi Street, in Mission Hills.
She is known by many names, including “the nurse serving the barrios,” “Mama Rose,” “Tia,” and “Nurse Jenny,” says her nominator for the award, Ronald Sorenson, director of the community outreach at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. ‘People in the housing project trust her and know that Jenny will go to bat for them to find a piece of medical equipment, get them linked with a physician, or connect them with a community resource. People see the love and compassion of Jesus in the face of Jenny Rosales, and because of her dedicated work there is healing and positive outcomes developing within the underserved community she serves.”
Born and raised in the tiny town of Zapata, TX, she became the third generation to call it home. Her father moved the family to California for Health reasons, settling a block and a half from Guardian Angel Church. She became a licensed vocational nurse at Lose Angeles Valley College in Van Nuys, and then earned an associate’s degree. She later received a bachelor?s degree in health care administration from the University of La Verne, in La Verne, CA, and a parish nurse certificate from Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, CA. It was at Azusa Jenny says, that she learned “what it’s all about, how to deal with the spiritual body and soul of the patient.”
In her nursing career she has been associated with a doctor’s office at Pacoima Medical Center, Pacoima Memorial Hospital and Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar, CA, where she retired in 2003. Since 2002 she has been a volunteer with the Parish Nurse Partnership Program operated by Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, in Mission Hills.
Jenny Rosales is married to Daniel Rosales, Sr., a retired construction worker. They have three grown sons, all of whom are in “helping” professions and live in southern California.