GENERAL SECTION

I am Sister Monique, little sister of the Assumption. I am bursar general and I work full time in the congregation at the Mother House.

We are an international congregation in 21 countries, we have opted for IMS. All the countries are attached to the central section of Paris. It seemed important to me as general bursar to follow all the files I sent and especially the reception. Because in the countries it may be more or less difficult to follow.

I heard about the modifications of the services and the computer software by the President of the IMS and I was delighted. I am happy to be able to follow the management live. And we know that in the event of a malfunction, we can always reach someone.

Since the time that I have been responsible for the IMS group, the link has been natural with the management teams of IMS. I value relationships.

I am Sister Marie-Manuella, Sister of the Child Jesus in Le Mans (France) and I am the person in charge of health in my congregation.

We have chosen the IMS for both our sisters in mission and our indigenous sisters in Rwanda. There was an alternative of a contribution of 3 euros per person per year in the country. But this is for emergency care and does not allow for dental care, or cardiologist appointments, or any of the other care that the sisters might need. The IMS really allows my sisters to get the care they need.

The IMS is always there when needed. Two months ago, in July, one of my French sisters was dying from COVID, knowing she had malaria before, and thanks to the IMS she was able to be treated in a hospital in Rwanda. And now she is well and healthy.

The possibility of registering and de-registering members, and of seeing the reimbursements on the internet will facilitate my management. It will be much simpler. Thank you to the IMS.

I am Sister Simone from the congregation of the Daughters of Saint Mary of the Presentation.

Our sisters in Cameroon are all members of the IMS. For me it is really a question of mutual aid where solidarity is at stake. Solidarity because it is not an insurance but really a mutual aid.

To help us in the management, we have the Guide of the Services of the IMS to which we can refer permanently, a guide renewed and adapted every year. We can consult it on the website. A few days ago I had recourse to it because we had a nun who was injured in Cameroon.  The Guide informed us about the steps to take.

I would also like to talk about the relationship between the IMS and the secretary of the group. I feel a real support and a very simple relationship. And I have only one thank you to say to the IMS.

The Community du Chemin Neuf has chosen to use the services of the IMS where there is no local healthcare cover or when members travel. In this respect, the Association facilitates the evangelisation mission of the Community, like religious institutes, while assisting the dioceses. 

Our communities in different countries are familiar with the services of the IMS from their houses, in particular in Poland, the Czech Republic, the FRG, the DRC, Chad, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Philippines and Brazil. The priests, consecrated laity, single and with families can count on Sister Véronique Morin and myself, who are respectively in charge of the healthcare invoices and assistance from Lyon (France). 

I appreciate the “solidarity between religious communities” that the IMS allows, and I also emphasise the “knowledge of the specificity of missionary life”, a key strength of the Association. 

In practical terms, the speed and flexibility in handling IMS cases are very appreciable, especially since electronic communications have become widespread since early 2020.  

A network of hospitals is in place within the IMS which will grow as we wish, with easy access and negotiated rates.  

My Institute, the Society of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, has about 1,100 members and, at an international session of of the Provincial Superiors with the Provincial Bursars, in 2019, I had the opportunity to highlight our duty to ensure that all the Daughters of the Heart of Mary benefit from healthcare cover, wherever they are. I emphasised that “health insurance is not a luxury” and that this attention to our sisters is our responsibility.   

Sometimes, Daughters of the Heart of Mary cannot benefit from local health insurance (because it does not exist or is incomplete) and in this case we offer to enrol them with the IMS. This is also the case for those whose mission means they have to move from one country to another!   

Today, DHMs enrolled with the IMS are on mission in Kenya, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Germany, Argentina, and within the last foundation, in Haiti.  

Membership of the IMS is a way for us, Daughters of the Heart of Mary, to enact this attention to our fellow sisters, often also the poorest, and to exercise mutual assistance, at the very least between us, while facilitating each person’s mission.   

The proximity and speed of email/phone responses of the IMS’ administrators are advantages for me, as too is the principle of sending files electronically, which is faster and less expensive.