Bon Secours in the USA

The Sisters of Bon Secours established their first hospital in Baltimore in 1919 and opened their second, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, in 1945. By 1980, the sisters had established or assumed responsibility for several Catholic hospitals, long-term care facilities and other health care services, and the system began as a loose affiliation of these facilities which served primarily as a resource center.

The Bon Secours Health System was formed in 1983 to provide skilled, unified management and professional resources for all Bon Secours health care operations while preserving Bon Secours' Catholic tradition of providing quality care to all, especially the poor and sick.

Since 1983, the system has added facilities in Charleston and Greenville, South Carolina; Portsmouth, Richmond, Norfolk, and Newport News, Virginia; St. Petersburg, Florida; Altoona, Pennsylvania; Riverdale, Suffern, Warwick and Port Jervis, New York; and Ashland, Kentucky through acquisitions and joint ventures with other religious and non-sectarian organizations.

Today, more than 16,000 Bon Secours Health System employees, volunteers  and physicians are committed to serving and providing “Good Help to Those in Need” in acute, long term care, ambulatory, assisted living and community health facilities in nine states.

The Formation of a Health System

The explosive changes in health care that occurred in the 1960s caused the Sisters of Bon Secours concern about the effectiveness of its health care facilities. The sisters realized just how autonomous their health care facilities were and knew they needed to strengthen their sense of mission and identity to continue to succeed in the health care arena. In response to this concern, the 1968 Provincial Chapter called for a study of the sisters’ mission. Two studies of mission were conducted by the Province, one in 1968 and one in 1972. Recommendations from the 1972 study began the evolution of Bon Secours into a true health system with economies of scale and cohesiveness to its ministry.

Sr. Rita Thomas and Sr. Urban Auer took the initial steps in creating a health system in 1973. From these efforts, Bon Secours Health Commission was formed to share plans, problems and opportunities and consider the possibilities of shared services. This commission served in a coordinating and educational capacity.  In the same year, Sr. Justine Cyr was appointed Health Facilities Coordinator to serve as liaison between the Bon Secours facilities and the Provincial Council. Sr. Justine also served as the first chairperson of the Bon Secours Health Commission.

In June 1982, a consulting firm was hired to evaluate the success of the Health Care Corporation. From this evaluation, Bon Secours Health System was formed in 1983. Because the Bon Secours Congregation’s sole ministry had always been in health care, the Sisters remained involved in the new health system and played strategic governance roles on the health system level as well as having Sister presidents on local system boards. The Sisters were committed to doing the right thing for the right reason, and BSHSI was never just a health care business, but rather a ministry of Jesus and the Catholic Church.