Our project was born out of a realization that no serious recognition has been established for the contributions of the Sisters to healthcare in Western Pennsylvania. Meetings began in January of 2004 with six communities joining at that time. By April of 2004, sixteen communities from four dioceses (Erie, Pittsburgh, Altoona-Johnstown, and Greensburg) joined the project. This represented 100% of the communities involved in healthcare from 1847 to 1969. The first several years of the project were spent determining the focus of our project, planning, design, fund-raising, and other logistics. Currently we are in the construction phase of our project.

Project Overview Hospital At the end of the Civil War in 1865, two Franciscan Sisters began their work of charity from this house.
It became the first building of St. Francis General Hospital and contained 30 beds.

Beginning with the Sisters of Mercy of Pittsburgh and their arrival from Ireland in the early 1840s, to the opening of the first Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh in 1847 (the first Mercy Hospital in the world), to Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale who established St. Francis Hospital in Lawrenceville over 137 years ago, to the Vincentian Sisters of Charity and their pioneer work in establishing long term care facilities, come join us, and follow the trail established by those early Sister pioneers in healthcare.

Sheridan Sr. Bernard Sheridan, SSJ
Kosicki Sr. Hyacinth Kosicki, CSSF

See the stories of sixteen religious congregations as they unfold to reveal the courageous, risk-taking, creative, and innovative natures of the women who pioneered healthcare in Western Pennsylvania. Read about some of the leaders, such as Sr. Bernard Sheridan, a sister of St. Joseph from Erie, who was the first certified nurse anesthetist in the United States in 1893. Learn about Sr. Hyacinth Kosicki, a Felician Sister from Coraopolis who received awards for training medical cadets for the World War II effort. Learn about healthcare leaders from the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in Greensburg, Pennsylvania who created a model for managed care used as a prototype for Blue Cross Highmark of Pennsylvania.

On these pages and in our exhibit you will discover these and many other stories about how the Sisters responded to the need for caring for the sick of many immigrant populations at a time when there was no formalized healthcare. Learn about the long list of facilities and schools of nursing and other allied health professions established by the Sisters. In the “News and Events” section read about how the Sisters continue to enrich and enhance our University community not only by sharing their past, but their present and future.

A special note of gratitude…

The project would not be realized without extending a heartfelt note of gratitude to the many, many people who have helped us, and continue to help us along the way. We wish to thank our many benefactors and friends without whose support the work we have done to date would not be possible.

We also wish to thank President Robert Smith, Provost William Williams, Dean Bruce Russell, Ms. Mary Ann King, Director of Academic Resources, and the many people from Slippery Rock University’s Administration for their support of our project and its work. They have provided us with needed space, computers, phones, meals, and much more!

In addition, a very special note of “thanks” to the following individuals who have been there from the beginning of this project, and, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude:

Finally, we wish to thank all of the members of the sixteen congregations, both living and deceased for their numerous contributions to the quality of our lives in Western Pennsylvania.

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