Sisters of Charity Health System

Description

About Us
From its Cleveland headquarters the Sisters of Charity Health System provides oversight leadership and strategic direction to more than 20 organizations responding to community needs in Canton and Cleveland Ohio and Columbia South Carolina

We work to strengthen the mission and ministry of the Sisters of Charity of St Augustine by promoting stronger collaboration and expanded sharing of resources among our ministries At all times our objective is to identify unmet health and human service needs then shape effective responses that improve quality of life

Our diverse family of ministries includes elder care educational and human services grantmaking foundations and stateoftheart Catholic hospitals and health care facilities Individually and collectively these distinguished organizations address the critical needs of adults families children and youth In our ongoing commitment to continue Christs healing ministry we focus most deeply on the needs of the underserved and those living in poverty

History

History
Our story begins in 1851 when the first Sisters of Charity of St Augustine CSA arrived in Cleveland Ohio from France to serve as the citys first public health nurses As the CSA Congregation grew the Sisters continued to respond to unmet community needs of the changing times The Sisters of Charity of St Augustine established hospitals schools and dozens of health and social service programs in Ohio and South Carolina

The healthcare ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health Systems has an extensive history of innovation and quality This health care legacy continues today at five nationally recognized hospitals

St Vincent Charity HospitalA model of urban healthcare with progressive vital and responsive programs and services The Hospital strives to meet the changing needs of the community today and tomorrow Located in the heart of downtown Cleveland OH the Hospital has been part of the fabric of the city and the region since 1865

Mercy Medical CenterDue to the generosity of Mrs Rosa Klorer who had purchased the former residence of US President William McKinley the Sisters were called to Canton OH to establish Stark Countys first and only Catholic hospital in the historic home in 1908 Today Mercy Medical Center offers comprehensive programs and services to meet the health care needs of the community

Providence Hospital The opening of Providence Hospital in Columbia SC in 1938 was the result of an extraordinary act of faith by an extraordinary collection of people With an invitation and support from Fr Martin C Murphy of St Peters Church and Columbia businessman James B Younginer the Sisters of Charity of St Augustine mortgaged their Ohio motherhouse to finance a new hospital in a city the Sisters had never even seen Providence Hospital continues today as a leading provider of cardiovascular services in South Carolina

St John West Shore Hospital This Hospital is the youngest hospital in Cleveland OH opening its doors in 1981 Boasting a campus of 68 acres a capacity for 248 inpatients and a medical staff of nearly 500 physicians the Hospital was the result of a merger of two longstanding healthcare institutions St John Hospital and Bay View Osteopathic General Hospital Today St John West Shore offers a full range of both inpatient and outpatient services and serves as a teaching hospital for the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Providence Hospital Northeast Our newest hospital was established in 1999 This facility is dedicated to making quality compassionate healthcare more convenient for families in the rapidly growing Northeast area of Columbia

New Strategies For Growth

Our hospitals have always thrived through the contributions of our coministers the laity In 1982 the need for an even broader infrastructure with greater participation of the laity was clear Through the leadership of Sr Mary Patricia Barrett CSA the Sisters of Charity of St Augustine Health System now known as Sisters of Charity Health System was established to promote collaboration and provide strategic direction and faithbased leadership to the growing family of ministries The formation of the parent corporation was a critical step in increasing the involvement of laity in the oversight and operations of the Sisters health care ministry

In 1995 the Sisters of Charity Health System became the first Catholic organization to form a joint venture with a national forprofit health care system The transaction sparked impressive growth and resulted in the establishment of many new ministries including three grantmaking foundations each with a distinct vision to address community needs at the core of poverty

In 1999 the Sisters of Charity Health System restructured its Ohio partnerships with an investorowned health care corporation linking with Clevelandbased University Hospitals Health System now known as University Hospitals a nationally recognized leader in health care and medical research This alliance also includes unyielding provisions for the commitment to the mission of Catholic values in all facets of the hospitals operations In 2000 the Sisters of Charity Providence Hospitals in Columbia South Carolina became wholly owned by the Sisters of Charity Health System

Responding to Unmet Needs

Other new additions to the Sisters of Charity Health Systems family of ministries include two residential care centers for the elderly new collaborative partnerships for health and human services and one of the nations only residences for homeless men recovering from illness or medical treatment Healthy Learners a South Carolina network providing health services free of charge to children from lowincome families earned prestigious national honors in 2006 the NOVA Award from the American Medical Association and the Achievement Citation from the Catholic Health Association

Vision for Today amp Tomorrow

Today the Sisters of Charity Health System with assets over 1 billion lives out its true devotion to healing by serving the unmet needs of hundreds of thousands of children and families in Northeast Ohio and South Carolina We continue this tradition of healing the whole person through a range of health and human services organizations including five stateofthe art hospitals two geriatric residential facilities direct services in health education and housing and grantmaking foundations with significant community initiatves that focus on the root causes of poverty

Led by President and CEO Sr Judith Ann Karam CSA we are dedicated to excellence pledged to advocate for the poor and committed to the values of Jesus Christ At all levels we are a trusted resource for those in need of physical psychological or spiritual wholeness