Hawaii’s Sisters of St. Francis continue their pioneering healthcare with ‘holistic’ homes for low-income elderly

By Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz | Hawaii Catholic Herald

“When they called us, I said ‘Yay!’”

Eulalia Chang sits at her dining table, recalling the excitement she felt when she and her husband Arthur learned they would be moving into Franciscan Vistas Ewa. Surrounded by framed photos of their family, statues of angels and saints, and handmade placemats and jewelry, the Changs happily bask in the warmth of the new apartment they now call home.

“It is beautiful,” Arthur said. “It’s a place where we can sit back, relax and enjoy life.”

The Changs are pioneer residents of St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii’s new 149-unit senior independent living community in leeward Oahu. Franciscan Vistas Ewa opened its doors in late January to welcome 14 new tenants and more than 300 prospective visitors since.

A project conceived by the local Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities almost a decade ago, Franciscan Vistas Ewa strives to create a new model for senior housing, blending affordable amenities with the religious order’s 128-year-old island legacy of health ministry.