Tauana McDonald was commissioned as the 24th president and CEO of the Mount Carmel Health System on Monday, Sept. 30.
The ceremony was held in the Siegel Center at Mount Carmel Hospital East.
In attendance were Bishop Earl Fernandes; Msgr. Joseph Hendricks, the bishop’s delegate for community relations and a member of the Mount Carmel Foundation Board of Trustees; and Sister Suzanne Brennan, representing the Sisters of the Holy Cross of Notre Dame, Indiana, who founded Mount Carmel’s first hospital building in Columbus.
Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity at Stella Niagara, New York, representing the order that founded Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital, were also present.
Sister Suzanne, as a member of the founding congregation, led the rite of commissioning. She asked McDonald a series of questions to which she responded, “I do.”
McDonald assumed the position of president and CEO at Mount Carmel Health System on July 1.
She joined Trinity Health, Mount Carmel’s parent company, in 2003. McDonald most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Mount Carmel Grove City. She previously was Mount Carmel’s chief administrative officer.
The commissioning ceremony included a reading from the Gospel of Mark, which recounted Christ healing a paralytic man in Capernaum. The passage recalled, with great effort, several men carried a man and went as far as removing a roof to bring him to Jesus for healing.
McDonald connected the gospel story to her role and Mount Carmel’s mission of healing.
“I am honored to be the president and CEO of Mount Carmel Health System. This is a big job, leading Mount Carmel Health System, and caring for this great community is a huge responsibility, and I don’t take it lightly,” she said.
“Our gospel reading today involved people who work together, focused on caring for someone with a profound need. The compassion – the radical compassion they showed – allowed for a healing experience beyond everyone’s expectation.
“As leaders, we know that none of us can do what we do by ourselves. It takes diverse and engaged talent and effort by many to produce the advancements and improvements that we are seeing every day.”
McDonald discussed two projects currently underway at Mount Carmel.
A new hospital, Mount Carmel Dublin, is set to open in April 2025. The five-story hospital will offer a suite of services, including cardiology, neurology, orthopedics, primary care and surgical and outreach services.
Mount Carmel New Albany will also expand to offer an emergency department and additional services.
McDonald recognized and expressed gratitude to the health system’s founders.
“Years ago, I had the privilege of going to the motherhouse for the Sisters of the Holy Cross, meeting so many of the women who served at Mount Carmel and dedicated their lives to the service,” she said. “That legacy inspires and informs my leadership today.”
She credited the Sisters of the Holy Cross for shaping Mount Carmel’s commitment to compassionate care. “This is the kind of care that we were founded on, a care rooted in the gospel. I call it radical compassion,” she said. “The radical compassion still happens today in every corner of our ministry.”
Bishop Fernandes offered a blessing and remarks.
He described McDonald’s commissioning as a cause for celebration, which is ultimately a celebration of God’s goodness. The bishop said God’s grace, which has guided Mount Carmel since its founding in 1886, is a witness to His goodness.
“Today, we continue the healing mission of Jesus through our work, through our efforts as a community committed to the dignity of every human person,” Bishop Fernandes said.
“Tauana is no stranger to God’s blessing. I know that it is something she relies on and has relied on throughout her life. Today’s blessing is but one more … and yet, today’s blessing also stands out because of your leadership.”
