SoCal Flipbooks

4 | Health Matters: Providence Saint John's Health Center The Saint John's Story 1942 Hospital opens, led by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth 1949 North Wing opens 1967 South Wing opens 1974 Saint John's Health Center Foundation is incorporated Christmas party: In the early days, the Sisters sang Christmas carols for the doctors and guests Dr. George Hummer, the hospital's first physician, and Dr. Blake Watson helped establish subspecialties and the hiring of doctors with board certification "The COVID patient's family knew that we could give that patient every chance to live," Ricks recalls. "For the cancer patient, her final wish before her passing was to see her daughter get married. That's a day in the life of Providence Saint John's. Our vision of offering university-level care and providing a personalized, exceptional experience was on full display." Today, Ricks says he sees the original values established in 1942 by the health center 's foundresses—the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth—playing out in the health center 's 80th year. The desire for a hospital in Santa Monica arose during the Great Depression, and the sisters took on the daunting task. "If you examine the origins of education and health care in the United States, major contributions were made by nuns and religious women," Ricks says. "These women demonstrated courage, bravery, resilience and compassion. The Sisters of Charity established those values at the health center. I see those values every single day at Providence Saint John's in interactions with our patients and our interactions with each other." The values embraced by the sisters can also be seen in the health center 's outreach to underserved populations. The health center 's Community Health Investment team works with local organizations to meet the needs and bolster the efforts of community partners that also serve vulnerable populations, such as the Venice Family Clinic, the St. Joseph Center and The People Concern. "It's about living our mission inside the walls of the hospital but also outside, especially in underserved areas," says Paul Makarewicz, chief mission integration officer at Providence Saint John's. "The common ground of the Sisters of Charity—but also the Sisters of Providence and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, who serve Saint John's—is the mission of bringing God's healing love to those most in need." Just as traditions of compassion and patient dignity were established in the health center 's earliest days, so too was an emphasis on the highest-quality care, says John Robertson, MD,

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