CUAN MHUIRE founder Sr Consilio has expressed delight that the group, which offers rehabilitation programmes to people with alcohol, drug and gambling dependencies, has won a major award.
It has received the CHKS international quality improvement award for 2010.
This is believed to be the first time a rehabilitation centre has won such a major international award. CHKS is recognised internationally as one of the leading providers of healthcare intelligence and quality improvement services.
Sr Consilio (Fitzgerald), who founded Cuan Mhuire in 1966, said last night they were “delighted to received the award. We worked very hard at it over the past two years.” Cuan Mhuire has centres at Athy, Co Kildare; Bruree, Co Limerick; Coolarne, Co Galway; Farnanes, Co Cork; Golden, Co Tipperary; and Newry, Co Down; with houses in Dublin, Galway and Limerick and Cork.
At any one time it helps 600 residents, with 3,000 people completing programmes every year.
“We are a family far more than an organisation,” said Sr Consilio, a Mercy nun. “We value the dignity, the uniqueness of every person,” She said she could have done nothing without Our Lady helping her. “I’d never have survived and we would never be where we are today [without her],” she added.