W-b's Foray Into Downtown Development Has Risks 
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Life Into A Sputtering Area

Age No Barrier For Brother-turned-priest 
Sixty-nine-year-old Holy Cross Brother Ordained In Roman Catholic Church 
Brings Wealth Of Knowledge And Life Experience

Tuesday, December 20, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 2A 





WILKES-BARRE -- Williamsport resident Tom Pregent has been named
administrator of Hospice St. John. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pregent, 45, a native of Pittsfield, Massachusettes, was chosen to succeed
Brian C. Thomas, who resigned in October. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rev. Calvin O. Goerdel, president and chief executive operator of Lutheran
Welfare Service of Northeastern Pennsylvania, which owns and operates hospices
in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and Hazleton, said one of Pregent's first tasks will
be to help interview and hire three area managers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Under its new system of operation, each area office of the hospice will
function independently. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It is important that the three individual offices be able to quickly
respond to patient, family, and physician needs," Pregent said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pregent served as vice president of operations at Community Medical Center
in Scranton for three years, from 1986 to 1989. In his most recent position
before accepting the post as hospice administrator, Pregent served as
president of Divine Providence and Muncy Valley hospitals in Scranton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pregent said most of the hospices in the Wyoming Valley area are
for-profit, but Hospice St. John is a non-profit organization, which he said
will enable him to concentrate on the quality of health care as well as
concentrate on family-oriented goals. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We afford people to die with dignity," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "That's a very strong part of what we're about." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The hospice began "Prime Time" -- a program to help alleviate fears,
problems and stigmas associated with a diagnosis of a life-threatening
disease. It also was the first to offer a six-week grief workshop for
Wilkes-Barre area residents in 1992. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The hospice provides medical, social and spiritual support to about 100
terminally ill patients and their families at home. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Pregent Named Administrator At Hospice St. John