Are there any CATHOLIC Hospitals in the area you live in?

[Ridgerunner]

This is a far-out notion, but I’m going to submit it.

Hospitals, anymore, are mostly gargantuan enterprieses, or perhaps more accurately, a part of gargantuan enterprises that include mega-clinics and subsidiary organizations of every kind.
There are a lot of reasons for that, which would take too much time to explore in one post. A couple of things, though, are clear to me.

First, many of the old orders of nuns who operated the early Catholic hospitals have imploded or gone secular. It seems likely the “going secular” has caused the “implosion”, because some of the newer orders that are faithful to both the Magisterium of the Church and true community, have more applicants than they can handle, while the old secularized orders are dying out. Second, the capital investment is so staggeringly huge that no new religious group could reallly enter into that “market”.

What I find truly puzzling is why various Church organizations, including Dioceses, seem to have so little interest in establishing nursing homes. Anymore, nursing homes are the “hospitals” to which people must go when the insurance company or government says it will no longer pay for hospitalization. In the future, that can only increase. Where I live, hospital care is about $1,000/day while nursing home care is about a tenth of that.

At least where I live, nursing homes are independent of the big hospital/clinic complexes, and can manage to remain so. There is little doubt in my mind that if, say, a Diocesan nursing home was of interest in my diocese at least, there would be plenty of qualified administrators, nurses and paraprofessionals who would work for less if the atmosphere was truly Catholic and charitable. The number of “part timers” and volunteers would not likely be wanting either. I would be at least a bit surprised if some orders of religious men and women didn’t come to be in order to serve some of society’s truly abandoned and truly needy ones in that context, if the capital investment was there. The funding is already available, except for the initial capital investment. (and yes, I know what it costs, I have handled the sale of some of them) Looking at the cost of some of the new church buildings and parish halls, I know the money is there. What I don’t understand is why the motivation isn’t.

 

[catharina]

Yes, it is St. Vincent, but I don’t know what order of nuns are there. My grandson was there about 5 years ago and there were still a few around with a veil(no habit though).

There only a few nuns at St. Francis now and all the CEO’s and the Board is all secular.

I can’t pick up the signal for Catholic radiio here. there is some gidget you can get to get the signal, but I haven’t gotten it yet.

Hi to you. Since you have a devotion to Our Lady of Grace, I’m dropping a note here to let you know that the same Sisters run St. Vincent’s as were graced with the visions of Our Lady of Grace (Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal). The Sisters are Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.

marysource.com/apparitions/ourladymiraculousmedal.htm

The community is nearly 400 years old and is of French origins. Indeed the Motherhouse in Paris is the very same place where Sister Catherine Laboure, D.C., received her visions and instructions from our Blessed Mother. The Sisters wore the white (“winged”) cornette until the late 1960s when the habit was modified for very good reasons. 1) St. Vincent de Paul wished that the Sisters wear clothes of “simple peasants” and not a habit at all. 2) The Habit that included the cornette weighed more than 15 pounds in total and since the Sisters serve around the world, including in equatorial nations in Africa and among island peoples, the habit change was welcomed by them since upkeep of the previous Habit (much heavy starching required) was no small matter. The Sisters at St. Vincent’s and at other Daughters’ hospitals do not dress in the mode of the “fancy laity.”

Each wears a visible cross or crucifix. None wears make-up or jewelry.

 

[MSParrott]

One in our city is Mercy Hospital, which is part of the Sisters of Providence Health system. mercycares.com/
This is the only hospital I want to go to (well not “want”)

 

[Indyann]

Hi to you. Since you have a devotion to Our Lady of Grace, I’m dropping a note here to let you know that the same Sisters run St. Vincent’s as were graced with the visions of Our Lady of Grace (Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal). The Sisters are Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.

marysource.com/apparitions/ourladymiraculousmedal.htm

The community is nearly 400 years old and is of French origins. Indeed the Motherhouse in Paris is the very same place where Sister Catherine Laboure, D.C., received her visions and instructions from our Blessed Mother. The Sisters wore the white (“winged”) cornette until the late 1960s when the habit was modified for very good reasons. 1) St. Vincent de Paul wished that the Sisters wear clothes of “simple peasants” and not a habit at all. 2) The Habit that included the cornette weighed more than 15 pounds in total and since the Sisters serve around the world, including in equatorial nations in Africa and among island peoples, the habit change was welcomed by them since upkeep of the previous Habit (much heavy starching required) was no small matter. The Sisters at St. Vincent’s and at other Daughters’ hospitals do not dress in the mode of the “fancy laity.”

Each wears a visible cross or crucifix. None wears make-up or jewelry.

Thank you, Catherina, I guess I was having a “senior moment” there to have forgotten about the Daughters of Charity. I do remember the huge white cornettes the sisters wore. Theere are a lot of pictures in the lobby of the hospital with the nuns in the habits of old.

It seems like the nuns that I saw recently there just wore navy or black skirts and white blouses with a short white veil.
But I could have them mixed up with the Franciscans, it seems like that is what they wore also.

Thanks for refreshing my memory and for the link about Our Lady of Grace. My love for her stems from the name of my high school (now defunct).

 

[catharina]

Thank you, Catherina, I guess I was having a “senior moment” there to have forgotten about the Daughters of Charity. I do remember the huge white cornettes the sisters wore. Theere are a lot of pictures in the lobby of the hospital with the nuns in the habits of old.

It seems like the nuns that I saw recently there just wore navy or black skirts and white blouses with a short white veil.
But I could have them mixed up with the Franciscans, it seems like that is what they wore also.

Thanks for refreshing my memory and for the link about Our Lady of Grace. My love for her stems from the name of my high school (now defunct).

Thank you for your thank you and let me confess that I seem to have signed up for many senior moments too. However with my only sister being a Daughter of Charity, there’s very little I forget about the Community. They do have an actual habit, terribly simple, one-piece garment (in the old “Daughter of Charity” blue color) but many Sisters save those for special feast days since they are not exactly “off the rack.” Most Sisters (Daughters) wear some simple outfit on their workdays, usually blue skirt, blue or white top but since many purchases come the St.VdeP stores (second-hand) modesty is the primary criterion. Color comes in a distant second. Also, the Daughters wear a coiffe (French name for their headpiece) and the habit is simple.

 

[catharina]

In my neck of the woods, there is Seton Hospital and MC to the north of me (Daly City CA) and St. Louise Hospital and MC to the south (San Jose CA). Both are Daughter of Charity hospitals so although there are some other RC hospitals nearby, my choice would be with the Daughters.

 

[NMJenny]

All of my children were born in Catholic hospitals in the 1950-60s, but, alas, the only Catholic hospital in my area was sold about 35 years ago. The only Catholic hospital that I would have access to now is 150 miles away–hardly practical for normal use, although I did go there for surgery once…

 

[dalesmom]

I find it very interesting that there are so many St. Vincent hospitals run by the Daughters of Charity all over the U.S. That’s where I work here in Birmingham, Al. WOW! Thanks sisters!

 

[KathleenElsie]

I find it very interesting that there are so many St. Vincent hospitals run by the Daughters of Charity all over the U.S. That’s where I work here in Birmingham, Al. WOW! Thanks sisters!

Now if we could only get them into the
Greater Pittsburgh, PA area many of us would be greatly grateful.

 

[LeahInancsi]

In 1956, I was born at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Fort Worth, TX. Prior to my birth, my mother worked there as a pharmacist and her boss was a nun. About ten years ago, the hospital closed. Most likely prior to that, the hospital was bought out by a corporation. Therefore, I voted NO.

Nuns ran the Catholic hospitals and now with very few nuns and the high cost of health care, it is very difficult for the Church to operate a hospital.

 

[chicago]

The Catholic hospitals in this area have generally coalesced around two or three Catholic conglomorate health care systems.