The February opening of UAB St. Vincent’s East Freestanding Emergency Department (FED) in Trussville was a source of great celebration not only for the facility’s staff but for the entire community.
The excitement of the opening day was accompanied by a blessing and dedication, tours of the facility, and opportunities to honor the donors who helped make the new FED possible. Two of those donors were Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Allison, who purchased the naming opportunity for the Sisters’ Vigil sculpture, the likes of which stand at other UAB St. Vincent’s facilities.
“I always admired the Sisters’ Vigil, whose imagery was conceived by Dr. Edwin Waldrop,” said Dr. Allison. “I worked with him on many occasions during my internship as a surgical assistant.”
The original Sisters’ Vigil was created by sculptor Brad Morton, a friend and colleague of Mrs. Allison. The work represents the four members of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul who came to Birmingham in 1898 to start a hospital.
Dr. Allison is an emeritus member of the UAB St. Vincent’s Foundation Board of Directors. He learned of the opportunity to finance the recasting of the sculpture for the Trussville facility while attending a meeting of the Board’s allocation committee.
“I elected then and there to donate the required funds for completing this great project with the hope that in the future, others would seek out this facility after seeing this beautiful beacon of mercy, and thereby enjoy the grace of our Lord and Savior into the far and distant future, as the Sisters continue to watch over us from Heaven,” he said.