St. Joseph Health Celebrates 80 Year Anniversary on December 8, 2016

(Bryan, Texas) The end of 2016 marks two incredible milestones — the 80th anniversary of St. Joseph Health and the 100th anniversary of our founders, the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio.

Over the past 80 years, what started as a small hospital in 1936 has grown into the major regional health system that St. Joseph Health is today with five hospitals, two long-term care facilities, more than 30 clinics and a physician network of 265 providers. Throughout that time, the system cared for more patients, delivered more babies and introduced more advancements in healthcare than any other provider in the region. A partnership with Texas A&M Health Science Center to develop the MatureWell Lifestyle Center, a health and wellness center devoted to seniors and a new $23 million Emergency & Trauma Center at our Regional Hospital are among the most recent developments.

“As I look at our system today, I am inspired by the lasting impact of our Sisters’ legacy, faithfully carried forward by our Sisters St. Anthony, Rita Jane Radecki, Lois Anne Palkert and Penny Dunn and more than 3,000 team members,” said Rick Napper, President and CEO of St. Joseph Health.

As part of the ministry of the Sisters of St. Francis, who expanded from Rochester, Minnesota to Texas in 1936, Sisters began managing and purchased the 25-bed Bryan Hospital, which had recently closed after 20 years of service. The Sisters renamed the hospital St. Joseph Hospital in honor of one of the patron saints of the sick and dying. The Sisters’ spirit of health and healing and commitment to compassionate care helped build a solid foundation for what is now one of the most trusted health systems in the region.

For the next eight decades under their direction, the hospital grew and flourished with one expansion after another and an endless list of new services, advances in equipment and medical firsts for the region. This progression has enabled St. Joseph Health to become the major referral center for the nine-county area in the Brazos Valley.

Some of our medical firsts for the region include the first CT scanner, the first open-heart surgery suite and cardiac catheterization laboratory, mammography, outpatient surgery, a dedicated sleep laboratory, cancer center, rehabilitation center and freestanding emergency room.

Over the years, in order to extend their healing ministry, the Sisters also expanded the health system’s geographic footprint with the purchase of hospitals in the rural areas of Caldwell, Madisonville, Navasota and later Bellville, as well as the creation of clinics in Normangee, Lexington, Caldwell and Hearne.

In November of 2014, the Sisters of St. Francis transferred sponsorship of St. Joseph Health System to one of the largest faith-based health systems in the nation, Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), based in Englewood, Colorado. As St. Joseph Health, our Catholic heritage and the Sisters’ legacy continue.

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About St. Joseph Health

Established in 1936, St. Joseph Health is a faith-based, not-for-profit health system committed to excellence and compassion in caring for the mind, body and spirit while creating healthier communities. St. Joseph Health is comprised of five hospital facilities across the Brazos Valley, including Regional Hospital, the region’s highest level trauma center. St. Joseph Medical Group operates more than a dozen primary and specialty care clinics around the region, offering expert care, closer to home. St. Joseph Health is a part of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), one of the nation’s largest health systems. For more information, visit CHIStjoseph.org.

Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, CHI operates in 19 states and comprises more than 103 hospitals, including four academic medical centers and teaching hospitals; 30 critical-access facilities; community health services organizations; accredited nursing colleges; home health agencies; and other services that span the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care. For more information, visit CatholicHealthInitiatives.org.