CAMDEN – Current and former staff of VITALity Catholic Healthcare Services Diocese of Camden were joined by Bishop Joseph Williams earlier this month to celebrate 10 years of compassionate service across South Jersey.
“Today is not only an anniversary, it is a reminder of why VITALity exists,” Nicole Keefer, VITALity’s executive director, said during a luncheon held at Cathedral Hall after the Bishop celebrated Mass on Dec. 1 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Prior to the creation of VITALity, the Diocese of Camden had three functioning nursing homes that served, on average, 500 people. Today, through VITALity, those numbers have soared. In 2024, hospitality chaplaincy served more than 58,000 people, parish nurses served 15,000 parishioners, and care coordinators helped 2,700 families.
Bishop Williams credited Bishop Emeritus Dennis Sullivan for having the foresight “to amplify the closeness of God to those who are sick or aging.”
Keefer agreed, saying Bishop Sullivan recognized that the Church had a sacred responsibility to care for those who are sick, aging, vulnerable and sometimes forgotten.
“He asked us to reimagine what Catholic healthcare could look like – could we develop a way to keep having a healthcare prevalence in the Diocese of Camden that … encompassed whole person care, care of the body, mind and spirit? We now know that answer is yes,” she said.
Deacon Jerry Jablonowski, who retired as VITALity’s founding executive director in June 2024, reflected on the dedication and hard work that went into building the healthcare ministry into the success it is today.
In addition to also thanking the pastoral leadership of Bishop Sullivan and Father Robert Hughes, former vicar general, Deacon Jablonowski recognized some of its first employees: Father Sanjai Devis, VC; Karen Fisher, VITALity’s former manager of parish-based senior programs; and Mimi Schaible, its former director of Care Coordination and Consultation.
“What a blessing it is to see where we began to where we are today,” said Father Devis, who, after Deacon Jablonowski, was the second person to be hired to build up VITALity.
With a history in counseling and hospital chaplaincy, he worked diligently to create a hospitality chaplaincy team of priests, deacons, laity and about 300 Eucharistic Ministers serving hospitals and hospices across the Diocese of Camden.
In addition, Father Devis – current pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish, Williamstown – also brought the Stephen Ministry concept to VITALity, a ministry he started at his former parish, Holy Family in Sewell. Today, with the support of VITALity, there are Stephen Ministries in about 20 South Jersey parishes. Stephen Ministers are lay members who are trained to assist others through difficult times such as grief, divorce, job loss and more.
Deacon Jablonowski said VITALity was – and always will be – based on the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John 10:10: “I came so that they would have life and have it more abundantly.”
“That became the theme and mission of what VITALity is about,” he said, adding that VITALity is now a model of care across the country, especially when it comes to an organized system of hospital chaplaincy, nurses and social workers.
Among those continuing today’s work is Deacon Eddy Gonzalez, who was ordained to the permanent diaconate in October. The parishioner of Saint Joseph Pro-Cathedral Parish in Camden has been working with VITALity for about eight months.
“I feel truly blessed to be part of the ministry. Each visit to older adults – whether to pray with them or to offer a blessing – creates a special connection,” he said.
With many of those he visits asking for him to return, Deacon Gonzalez says he sees this ministry as a “beautiful vocation. Witnessing how the faces of those who often feel alone brighten reminds me that God is calling me to accompany them and bring faith to their hearts.”
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