"St. Mary's present approach is a bifurcated one, focusing on preventative care on the one hand and hospice care on the other," explains CEO Sense Chen. Preventative care as Chen sees it has a wide purview that encompasses "teaching people to live healthy lives and working to foster a healthy society." At the other extreme is helping patients prepare themselves to die peacefully and without regret.

St. Mary's on-campus health club, as well as their healthy-living farm and academy, could all be said to be the embodiments of their preventative healthcare philosophy. But for a group of hospital administrators to foray into terra incognita like farm development required substantial karmic assistance.

Following in the footsteps of the exquisite health club building (facing page, bottom), St. Mary's has additional plans for two other astonishing places: St. Mary's Health Farm and the Pei-tse Institute. This group of dedicated dreamers includes: landscaper Michael Liu (above, first on left), agronomy adviser Old Mou (second on left), project supervisor Cai Qifu (third on left, also the older brother of spatial designer Shunzi), St. Mary's CEO Sense Chen (back row, third from right), Associate Administrator Jennifer Chen (back row, second from right), Health Farm project manager Cai Zhihong (back row, first on right), and aromatherapist Nicole Wu (first row, second from right). The former president of the National Taipei College of Nursing, Dr. Lin Shouhui (first on right), made a special trip to show support.

Over a year ago, the health club at St. Mary's began serving delicious organic vegetarian offerings that were a big hit with everyone. Reflecting on this success, they wondered if they might not do even better if they produced their own organic vegetables, since it would allow them greater quality control. Moreover, it would furnish another example of healthy living for the community.

A short while after beginning the search for a suitable location, they chanced upon an abandoned farm plot along Taitung City's Zhiben Road (Provincial Highway No. 11) that the Veterans Affairs Commission was trying to rent out. The low rent of NT$20,000 a year was certainly attractive, but not even that perk could mask some of the flaws. Of the four total acres, two acres that were originally used to cultivate sugar-apples were covered with a dense layer of sand and gravel. The earth appeared barren. There were several dilapidated buildings, offices and chicken coops, marred with dust and debris that spoke to years of disuse.

But the disheveled state of affairs only awoke within the people at St. Mary's the resolve to set things right, and in January of this year, they began renting. The hospital's associate administrator, Jennifer Chen explains, "The main factor was that Typhoon Morakot struck immediately after we finished surveying properties. As we at St. Mary's assisted the disaster victims we were amazed at their perseverance; we were also served a potent reminder of the importance of soil and water conservation. So we were determined not to lose a moment in creating a place that could both provide job opportunities in the community as well as promote organic agriculture."

From the moment they decided to act, all of the necessary people and resources coalesced perfectly. Once again, the hospital enlisted the aid of landscaper Michael Liu, the architect of the hospital's therapeutic garden; this time Liu designed an ecology pond and the images at the entrance, as well as the garden landscaping. Liu prevailed on a retired agriculturist-cum-stone sculpture expert, Old Mou, to head up the agronomical side of things. They decided to preserve and repurpose the original buildings, and for this they turned to the talented Shunzi for a second time. With this all-star crew in place, the planning proceeded at a rapid pace, though of course credit must also be given to the dozen or so St. Mary's employees that contributed their energy, and also to the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau of the Council of Agriculture, which liberally donated 600 saplings to grow into an afforestation demonstration zone.

St. Mary's Health Farm is scheduled to open to the public in July of this year, and should be a welcome opportunity for visitors to get close to Mother Earth. It will include such diverse offerings as a farm plot for the general public to develop agricultural skills, an agrarian workshop, a holiday farmer's market, a therapeutic garden, and a sales center.

Here we see the health farm in the midst of renovation. Originally a Veterans Affairs Commission farm, it lay abandoned for years waiting for someone to seize this plum opportunity.

Although preoccupied with the planning and development of their farm, last year the people at St. Mary's initiated another large project: to turn a 55-year-old Catholic boarding house into a learning center for people with chronic illnesses as well as the general public, without compromising any of the integrity and spiritual principles exemplified by the building's original mission.

Located in Taitung City proper on Xinyi Road just two kilometers away from St. Mary's Hospital, Pei-Tse Institute has basked in the affections of the community for many years. In 1955, Rev. Jacob Hilber of Societas Missionaria de Bethlehem established the residence with funds that he raised himself with the purpose of making educational opportunities in the city accessible for the impoverished youth from the mountains and also the offshore islands. During the same period, SMB also opened in Taitung a vocational school, a job training center, and a hostel for girls that was operated by nuns, all with the same purpose of helping young people on Taiwan's east coast gain a foothold on the path to a better life.

A number of the boarding house's former occupants did in fact mount successful careers in various fields. Seeking to honor the institute that nurtured them, as well as to maintain contact with one another, they formed an alumni association. Ou Chin-teh, president of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation, is one such alumnus. By his own admission, he was an obstreperous child until his exasperated parents handed him over to be educated by the priests. Another alum, Tao (Yami) Aboriginal author Syaman Rapongan, has expressed gratitude to Pei-tse for opening the door to a better education.

Three years ago, the institute's strict but much beloved superintendent, Father Zheng Hongsheng, retired after more than 20 years of service. St. Mary's has been looking after the aged priest since that time. The personnel have since departed, and the mottled modernist building has lapsed into neglect, standing a silent vigil amongst the surrounding trees.

At the end of last year, St. Mary's began making concrete plans towards achieving their new vision, conferring repeatedly with church members and alumni to draw up the best plan.

"This experience has been completely different from the health club or the health farm. So many people have hallowed memories of this place, so we have to tread carefully and communicate our intentions clearly, because even budging a column we could offend somebody!" smiles Jennifer Chen, but her point is borne out by the fact that over 100 church members and boarding house alumni showed for the proposal meeting, which was deliberately held on Christmas Day because "everybody was more likely to be in an agreeable frame of mind."

Construction is already underway at the time of this writing, with the intrepid Shunzi once again at the helm. Environmental values are at the project's core. For the main building, they have hewed to the original layout with the exception of a few minor adjustments and fortifications, such as the addition of larger windows to make the building connect more harmoniously with the surrounding trees. A new building containing classrooms and an employee dormitory was erected at one of the corners of the campus, taking care to avoid some prominent tree roots. Much of the original furniture has been retained-one room has even been set aside as an archive of artifacts from throughout its history.

The name Pei-tse Institute has been preserved as a tribute to the founders, Rev. Hilber Jacob and Rev. Alois Burke. The building is slated to be completed by February next year. In the future, aromatherapy and yoga classes will be available on a regular basis, as will camps specifically tailored for people with chronic illnesses. People will be able to apply for temporary lodging in the dormitory. "A little way's walk from the school you can see the ocean. You can go for a stroll in the park, or over to the health club to enjoy some savory organic food. We welcome all who need spiritual nourishment to come for a respite and to recharge their batteries," says Jennifer Chen, articulating St. Mary's vision.

Thanks to alumni support, the storied Pei-tse Institute is making a transition into a new life as a health academy.

Following in the footsteps of the exquisite health club building (facing page, bottom), St. Mary's has additional plans for two other astonishing places: St. Mary's Health Farm and the Pei-tse Institute. This group of dedicated dreamers includes: landscaper Michael Liu (above, first on left), agronomy adviser Old Mou (second on left), project supervisor Cai Qifu (third on left, also the older brother of spatial designer Shunzi), St. Mary's CEO Sense Chen (back row, third from right), Associate Administrator Jennifer Chen (back row, second from right), Health Farm project manager Cai Zhihong (back row, first on right), and aromatherapist Nicole Wu (first row, second from right). The former president of the National Taipei College of Nursing, Dr. Lin Shouhui (first on right), made a special trip to show support.