Honoring an innovator

When Rosemary McAuliffe took the job of executive director at the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange in 1967, she decided there had to be a better way of getting the word out about foster children needing homes.

By 1969 she had initiated the Photolisting system, a photocopied bulletin of children in need of adoption that worked dramatically: The agency went from placing 10 children a year to 100.

"I knew a picture was worth a thousand words," said McAuliffe, 75, and only recently retired from the exchange's board of directors.

For her work as director from 1967 to 1974 and her work in helping place adopted children, McAuliffe will be honored at the exchange's 50th anniversary celebration Nov. 4 at Jordan's Furniture in Reading. The Wakefield native has lived in Rockland for several years.

McAuliffe thought children weren't getting the needed exposure when she took over, she said. "It was important to me that people knew these children better. I felt this program was one of the best things I could have done for youngsters in foster care."

The Photolisting program was the first of its kind in the nation and is registered with the Library of Congress. It is used nationwide by adoption agencies and has changed the way they reach out to prospective parents, said Lisa Funaro, executive director of the exchange.

"For 40 of our first 50 years, Rosemary served as executive director and then board member," she said. "We are delighted to take this opportunity to recognize her innovative leadership."

The Nov. 4 event is billed as "The Best is Yet To Come," and more than 200 adoptive families, adoption advocates, and others are expected to attend.

The most satisfying part of her work in adoption, McAuliffe said, was seeing "the difference when children were placed. Once they found permanency and security, it was like day and night."

The Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange is based in Boston, and McAuliffe said she heard that Funaro would like to see an adoption connection on the South Shore.

"The thought occurred to me," said McAuliffe, "that I should try to help out with that."

For more information, visit mareinc.org.

NURSE LAUDED: Cherrie Olivenza of Randolph, a registered nurse with Partners Home Care, has been presented with the Anna Hughes Baker Award, which honors an outstanding member of the agency's Milton Nursing Team. Olivenza has been known to make home visits to her patients on her day off, said Kathy Hernon, regional director for Partners' south region. Olivenza joined the agency in 2001. The award was made at a reception in Braintree on Oct. 11. Ed Baker of Milton established the award in honor of his mother, Anna Hughes Baker, 10 years ago.

WELCH WINS DROSTE AWARD: The Maria Droste Award will be presented to Richard Welch, president of Welch Healthcare and Retirement Group, at an event Nov. 15 hosted by Hancock Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Facility in Quincy, which is owned and run by the Welch Group. Welch has served on dozens of industry-related boards in the past, and currently serves as preceptor for the Healthcare Administration Program at Stonehill College in Easton.

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Wilfred Sheehan of Duxbury has been named to the Massachusetts Hospital Association's Trustees Advisory Council for a three-year term. He has served as chairman of Plymouth's Jordan Hospital Health System's board of directors since November 2005.

Peter J. Holden has been named president and CEO of Jordan Hospital and its affiliates. He has 30 years of hospital management experience, including running Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton. He is scheduled to take over Nov. 5 from Alan Knight, who will remain as an adviser to Holden and the hospital's board of directors until January.

Paul E. Kandarian can be reached at Kandarian@globe.com.