St. Joseph Health Legacy Award Recognizes Three for Living Franciscan Mission, Values

Bryan, TX, February 23, 2021—St. Joseph Health has named Mark Lindsey, MD; Sister
Gretchen Kunz, OSF; and Caroline McDonald as 2021 Legacy Award Recipients for their
commitment to Franciscan values and for continuing the legacy of the Sisters of St. Francis of
Sylvania, Ohio, who founded the health system over 86 years ago. Traditionally, the Legacy
Awards are presented at a ceremony at St. Joseph Health Bryan Hospital in March, but due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, the recognition ceremony has been postponed.

“We are proud to recognize Dr. Mark Lindsey, Sister Gretchen Kunz and Caroline McDonald for
their unwavering commitment to Franciscan values. Their ministry and their commitment to
tenderness, humility, selflessness and reverence for all creation keep the mission of St. Francis
alive,” said Sister Penny Dun, Vice President of Mission of St. Joseph Health. “Their work has
brought comfort and care to the community, and we are so appreciative for their service.”

Each year, team members, medical staff and the community have an opportunity to nominate
individuals who have dedicated 20 years or more to St. Joseph Health in a commitment of the
Sisters’ core values of Tenderness, Humility, Selflessness and Reverence for all Creation.
Nominee requirements include being a staff member, medical staff member or having an
association with St. Joseph Health for more than 20 years of services, as well as sharing the
values of St. Francis through their work at St. Joseph.

Mark Lindsey, MD, has dedicated over 46 years of service to ophthmalogy and decades of
service to St. Joseph Health, caring for all those in need of his services and being a resource for
other providers. “He is available to the medical staff for consults at all times, even though he is
not ‘on call,’” a colleague said. “He has established a legacy of caring for all who need it and
exemplifies the mission of St. Joseph.”

Sister Gretchen Kunz, OSF, is being honored posthumously for 24 years of dedicated service to
St. Joseph Health and the residents of the Brazos Valley as CEO of St. Joseph Health and then
through her leadership of the St. Joseph Health Foundation. “She changed one small hospital at
St. Joseph into a network of healthcare services covering 12 counties,” a colleague said. “I have
never met a leader with more passion, intelligence, compassion, vision and drive…” Sister
Gretchen touched the lives of all those she came in contact with.

Caroline McDonald has devoted over 28 years of service to St. Joseph Health as a Board
Member, Chair of St. Joseph Regional Health Center and St. Joseph Health System Board, a role
she currently holds. “Her selfless dedication to St. Joseph is shown by her unwavering support
of the health system, being our biggest cheerleader and serving as our role model on how to live
our lives,” a colleague said. “She holds us accountable, and she does herself, ensuring that we
always stay focused on our mission to care for one another as God’s children.”

Honorees receive a plaque, which is displayed in Regional Hospital near the Legacy Tree, a
monument commemorating the core values of the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio. Past
award recipients include retired Dr. John Hall, Medical Staff Services Director Kathryn O’Briant
Wier, retired Administrator and Vice President of Rural Hospitals Reed Edmundson, Dr.
Stephen Braden, Social Worker Betty Jo Harp, Dr. C.H. Prihoda, retired Dr. Alan Young, retired
Dr. Ralph Young and retired RN Mari Szabo. This year marks the fourth annual Legacy Awards
recognition.

About St. Joseph Health: Since 1936 St. Joseph Health has been caring for the communities
of Bryan, College Station, Brenham, Hearne, Navasota, Caldwell and Madisonville. With the
area’s only Level II Trauma Center, the first Joint Commission-certified Primary Stroke Center
and the first accredited Chest Pain Center in the Brazos Valley, St. Joseph Health is a leader in
critical care and the largest provider of cardiovascular care in the region.

[For more information, please contact Communications Manager, Tracy Bates at 713-962-9347
or [email protected].]
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