Catholic Health East: Latest News

New Member Appointed to Hope Ministries

November 17, 2006

Sr. Mary Caritas Geary, SP

Catholic Health East (CHE), one of the nation's leading Catholic healthcare systems, announced the recent appointment of Sr. Mary Caritas Geary, SP, to Hope Ministries, a CHE sponsor.

Hope Ministries is a Public Juridic Person of Catholic Health East. Public Juridic persons are a group of individuals dedicated to the purpose of helping the Church achieve its mission, and are recognized by the Vatican as having the authority to sponsor ministries in the name of the Church.

Sr. Caritas brings a wealth of religious healthcare experience to Hope Ministries. She has served as a member of the CHE Board of Directors since its inception in 1998, including a stint as its vice chair. Sr. Caritas' current Board appointment expires in December 2006. Sr. Caritas will join Hope Ministries in January, 2007.

She is currently the Advocacy Coordinator for the congregation of the Sisters of Providence in Holyoke, Massachusetts, a position she has held since 1995. Prior to this, Sr. Caritas was President of Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Sister Caritas continues serving on numerous national, regional, and local boards, and is an advocate for critical healthcare policy matters such as healthcare for the poor and healthcare reform. A past-Chairperson of the Catholic Health Association and of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, Sr. Caritas also served on the Board of the American Hospital Association. She has also served as President of the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence. She was recognized for her many contributions to healthcare in 2002 when she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Catholic Health Association. In 2006 Sr. Caritas was the recipient of the American Cancer Society Omar T. Pace, MD, Award, a prestigious honor awarded for the past 13 years to community leaders who have significantly contributed to the fight against cancer.

Sr. Caritas is a graduate of both Mercy Hospital School of Nursing, Springfield, MA, and Regis College in Weston, MA. She earned her M.Ed. from Tufts University in Medford, MA and holds a certificate in Hospital Executive Management from St. Louis University in Missouri. She has received three honorary doctoral degrees of law, humanities, and health services.

"We look forward to benefiting from Sr. Caritas's experience, leadership, and vision as Hope Ministries takes on an even bigger role in Sponsorship," said Sr. Juliana Casey, IHM, executive vice president, Mission Integration for Catholic Health East. "Hope Ministries is an expression of the growing collaboration between sisters and laity. Though its efforts, the ministry can only be richer, the healing presence more powerful. It's really a step towards building the Church of the future."

Catholic Health East is a multi-institutional Catholic health system co-sponsored by 13 religious congregations and Hope Ministries, a Public Juridic Person within Catholic Health East. Based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, the System provides the means to ensure the continuation of the Catholic identity and operational strength of the Sponsors' health ministries, which are located within 11 eastern states from Maine to Florida.

The System includes acute care hospitals, free-standing and hospital-based skilled nursing facilities, residential facilities, free-standing behavioral health and rehabilitation facilities, and numerous ambulatory and community based health services. Catholic Health East facilities employ approximately 43,000 full time employees as partners in ministry.

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