St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center 140th Celebration

September 8, 2007 marked a true milestone in the history of St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center: the 140th anniversary of the founding of Paterson’s first hospital.  Established by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth in 1867, St. Joseph’s Hospital opened its arms to the community in a 12-bed house on Church Street in Paterson.  A small group of Sisters, with help from Father William McNulty and a handful of volunteers, cared for those in desperate need – the industrialized city’s ill, the injured, the hungry poor – an astounding 102 people in that first year. In their second year of operation, the Sisters purchased the Fonda Farm on Main Street (the present site of St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center and St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital) and the lives of that band of pioneering Sisters… and all of northern New Jersey was forever changed.  

The philosophy of care at the birthplace of
St. Joseph’s is rooted in nearly a century and a half of outstanding achievement.   Each service is offered with a strong commitment to the Mission, Vision and Values set forth by the hospital founders and sponsors, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth.  This dedication to the spirit of “Toward Boundless Charity” held by the Sisters and St. Joseph’s staff has never wavered. 

St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, formerly St. Joseph’s Hospital, kicked off the anniversary year in January 2007, celebrating the 140th baby born in the 140th year.   Monthly festivities included an ice cream social, National Nurses Week and Healthcare and Hospital Week events, a staff barbeque, a limerick contest, drawings for professional sporting event tickets, 140th anniversary commemorative gifts, and more.

“St. Joseph’s Day”, proclaimed by the City of Paterson, was celebrated on September 8th with a 140th Anniversary Mass and Reception attended by the Sisters of Charity, members of the Boards of Trustees, physicians, and guests.  The Mass was conducted by The Most Reverend Arthur J. Serratelli, Bishop of the Diocese of Paterson at St. Agnes Church, adjacent to the St. Joseph’s campus.  The Sisters of Charity choir performed at Mass.  A reception in the Johnson Auditorium followed Mass.

The St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center Foundation held its 31st Annual Charity Ball black tie gala with a 140th Anniversary theme this Fall.  Two Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth who are also esteemed physicians at St. Joseph’s, Sister Eileen Clifford, MD, Medical Director of Care Management, St. Joseph’s Healthcare System, and Sister M. Christine Reyelt, MD, Vice President of Mission, St. Joseph’s Healthcare System, were honored as the recipients of the prestigious Kendrick P. Lance, MD, Distinguished Physician Awards.

St. Joseph’s is an organization defined by 140 years of service excellence expertise, and experience. The organization’s 140th anniversary slogan: Tradition - Excellence - Progress speaks volumes about
St. Joseph’s, where the Mission of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth is fulfilled each day.