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Paterson’s First Hospital Celebrates 150 Years

DSC 0196St. Joseph’s Health Kicks-off Sesquicentennial Celebration”

 

St. Joseph’s Health launched a year-long series of 150th Anniversary celebrations on Thursday, September 8th with the unveiling of a historic marker to commemorate the humble beginnings of St. Joseph’s Hospital. Paterson’s first hospital, now known as St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, a member of the Healthcare System, was established by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth on September 8, 1867, in response to the industrialized City’s dire need for care… body, mind and spirit.

The founding group of sisters cared for 102 patients that first year, establishing and setting in motion an unwavering mission and commitment to community service for which St. Joseph’s is nationally recognized. St. Joseph’s University Medical Center now cares for more than 1.5 million people annually, including more than 163,000 emergency department visits.

“The Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth have proudly sponsored St. Joseph’s since 1867,” said Sister Marilyn Thie, SC, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees, St. Joseph’s Health, of the faith-based healing ministry. “That beginning has mushroomed into a highly regarded healthcare system this many years later.”

“St. Joseph’s is one of the greatest jewels in the Diocese of Paterson crown. We are fortunate to have St. Joseph’s here in Paterson. Thank you for the miracles you work here each day. Keep working the miracles of healing for the next 150 years,” said Rev. Msgr. Herbert Tillyer, on behalf of the Diocese of Paterson.

The Honorable Jose Torres, Mayor of the City of Paterson, saluted the hospital and healthcare system, and presented The Mayor’s Award for outstanding civic contributions to the Paterson community. He added, “St. Joseph’s Health is appropriately named after St. Joseph the Carpenter, a building and driving force of faith. St. Joseph’s Health and the Sisters of Charity represent that for the City.”

A Letter of Special Congressional Recognition commending St. Joseph’s Health on its immense contributions to the healthcare of the State of New Jersey was presented to Mr. Slavin on behalf of Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.

The historic marker, unveiled by Mr. Slavin and Sr. Marilyn Thie, SC, was blessed by Msgr. Tillyer, Sr. Marilyn Thie and Sr. Patricia Mennor, SC, Vice President, Mission at St. Joseph’s Health. The marker, which will be placed on the original location of St. Joseph’s Hospital on Church Street, between Ellison and Market Streets, reads:

St. Joseph’s Hospital was founded at this Church Street location on September 8, 1867. Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth,they tirelessly tended to the city’s ill, injured and poor in the 12-bed wooden structure.

This marker recognizes the 150 years that St. Joseph’s, now St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, a member of St. Joseph’s Health, and located at 703 Main Street, Paterson, has served the healthcare needs of its community.

Celebrating 150 Years Commitment to a Healthier Community 1867-2017

An Inspired Tradition of Service Excellence

Founded by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth in 1867, St. Joseph’s Hospital – one of the first hospitals in New Jersey – opened its arms to the community in a small wooden house on Church Street in Paterson. Fr. William McNulty asked Mother Mary Xavier, General Superior of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth to send sisters to Paterson to tend the sick. In response, Mother Xavier sent Sr. Anne Cecelia Hartnett and four other Sisters to begin the new ministry. The Sisters, with the support of volunteers, cared for those in desperate need, including many new immigrants, who were the industrialized city’s ill, the injured, the hungry poor. A year later, the Fonda Farm on Founded by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth in 1867, St. Joseph’s Hospital – one of the first hospitals in New Jersey – opened its arms to the community in a small wooden house on Church Street in Paterson. Fr. William McNulty asked Mother Mary Xavier, General Superior of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth to send sisters to Paterson to tend the sick. In response, Mother Xavier sent Sr. Anne Cecelia Hartnett and four other Sisters to begin the new ministry. The Sisters, with the support of volunteers, cared for those in desperate need, including many new immigrants, who were the industrialized city’s ill, the injured, the hungry poor. A year later, the Fonda Farm on Main Street (the current site of St. Joseph’s University Medical Center) was purchased and the future of that band of pioneering Sisters…and all of Northern New Jersey was forever changed.

Each passing year brought innovations as St. Joseph’s improved and expanded the healthcare resources available to area residents. Before the turn of the Century, St. Joseph’s offered a dispensary, maternity unit and pathology laboratory. A radiology department was established in 1902. Buildings and wings were added during nearly a dozen expansion efforts in the 20th Century. Along with these projects came trendsetting medical and surgical procedures in every specialty field and a variety of academic programs – all to benefit the health care needs of our pediatric and adult patients – the hospital’s community. Nothing held back progress as St. Joseph’s sought to provide a full range of services that equaled and readily eclipsed those in New York Metropolitan hospitals.

Over the years, St. Joseph’s Hospital has grown in size and scope of service. St. Joseph’s Health, which encompasses St. Joseph’s University Medical Center and St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center, St. Joseph's Healthcare and Rehab Center, Visiting Health Services of New Jersey, and a spectrum of outpatient centers across Northern New Jersey.

The longstanding tradition of service excellence, rooted in nearly a century and a half of outstanding achievements, remains unwavering. Each service is offered with a strong commitment to the Mission, Vision and Values set forth by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth.

St. Joseph’s Health proudly offers technically advanced clinical services, including ambulatory and community health services, behavioral health services, cardiology, emergency/trauma services, medicine, neurosciences, oncology, orthopedics, pediatrics, rehabilitation services, surgical services and women’s services. Today, St. Joseph’s Health is the provider of choice in the region, the largest provider of charity care in the State and the largest employer in Passaic County.

As an organization, St. Joseph’s is defined by nearly 150 years of service excellence, by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth who inspire its culture of caring, commitment and service to community, and by the expertise and experience that contribute to the organization’s legacy. St. Joseph’s Health’s vision remains clear; its mission unchanged.

St. Joseph’s Health is a nationally recognized major academic comprehensive health care organization sponsored by its founders, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth since 1867. To learn more about the spectrum of leading edge services and compassionate care available at St. Joseph’s, visit www.StJosephsHealth.org

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