Ascension Via Christi Health

Last updated
Ascension Via Christi Health
Company type Nonprofit organization
Industry Healthcare
Founded1948;76 years ago (1948)
Headquarters St. Louis, Missouri,
U.S.
Key people
Jeff Korsmo (CEO & president)
Lisa Gilbert, MD (Family medicine faculty member at Via Christi who is passionate about global health, rural health, and bioethics)
Services Hospital management
Owner Ascension Health
Number of employees
6,000 (2008)
Parent United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Mount Carmel Health System
Website healthcare.ascension.org

Ascension Via Christi Health is a Catholic-sponsored health care system fully owned [1] by Ascension Health. It is the largest provider of health care services in Kansas and employs more than 6,000 in its hospitals, physician offices and health services [2] in Kansas and northeast Oklahoma. [3]

Contents

History

Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother and St. Francis Hospital

Mother M. Frances Streitel founded a community in 1883 that, by 1885, had come to be known as the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother. [4] A few years later, Mother Streitel began sending Sisters to America. In 1889, the Sisters learned of a dilapidated 12-bed, three-story house named St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kansas. The Sisters soon took over operations and the hospital became profitable. [5] In 1893, the Sisters purchased a new building and began expanding the services of St. Francis Hospital. In 1947, the Chapel of the Sorrowful Mother was opened on the hospital grounds. [6] The hospital has expanded several times and now surrounds the chapel.

St. Francis Hospital was renamed St. Francis Regional Medical Center in 1982. In 2009, the hospital's name was changed to Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis. [7] Today, the hospital is known as Ascension Via Christi St. Francis.

The Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother have continued their growth in the health care and education ministries in the United States as well as internationally. [8]

Congregation of St. Joseph and Health Care in Kansas and Oklahoma

The first congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph was formed by six women under the direction of a Jesuit priest, Jean Pierre Medaille, in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. Sisters from the congregation came to the United States in 1836. [9]

Focused on education, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wichita opened a school in Newton, Kansas in 1883. In 1903, they transitioned into health care and opened Mt. Carmel Hospital in Pittsburg, Kansas. The hospital expanded in 1908 and again in 1916.

In 1921, the Sisters assumed ownership of Ponca City Hospital, a 14-bed hospital in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

By 1925, the Sisters had become responsible for Wichita Hospital, which had been founded by the Ladies' Benevolent Society in the 1800s near Douglas and Seneca in Wichita. In 1941, construction began on St. Joseph Hospital near Harry and Clifton in Wichita, which was seen as an expansion of Wichita Hospital. A tornado destroyed Wichita Hospital's east wing in 1953, which caused the hospital to close temporarily. Although the hospital was repaired and remodeled after the disaster, it was closed permanently in 1961. The hospital's patients were cared for at St. Joseph Hospital.

The Sisters expanded St. Joseph Hospital with the completion of a seven-story medical tower in 1976. St. Joseph Hospital also was renamed to St. Joseph Medical Center. In 2009, due to its location on East Harry Street, its name was changed to Via Christi Hospital on Harry. [7] In 2013, to reflect the hospital's heritage, it was changed to Via Christi Hospital St. Joseph.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Wichita joined six other congregations to form the Congregation of St. Joseph in 2007. [5] The Congregation exercises its health care ministries through Ascension Health. According to the Via Christi Health website, "The Wichita-based Sisters maintain a motherhouse in Wichita and continue their ministries at Via Christi's hospitals as well as other ministries to serve low-income individuals and those escaping domestic violence." [5]

Formation of Via Christi Health

On October 1, 1995, the sponsoring ministries of St. Francis Regional Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center, the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother and the Sisters St. Joseph, came together to form Via Christi Health System. [5]

Via Christi Health acquires Wichita Clinic

Via Christi Health announced in November 2011 a plan to acquire Wichita Clinic, an independent physicians group. The deal closed in December 2010, with the Wichita Clinic to be renamed Via Christi Clinic. [10]

Via Christi becomes full owner of Mercy Regional Health Center

On February 28, 2014, Via Christi Health became full owner of Mercy Regional Health Center in Manhattan, Kansas. [11] Via Christi Health and the Memorial Hospital Association had 50-50 ownership of the hospital since 1996. [12]

Ascension Via Christi Today

Ascension Via Christi Health is led by Jeff Korsmo, CEO. [13] He was named president and CEO on June 27, 2011 [14] and took reins of the organization that September. [15] Ascension Via Christi Health fully/partially owns or manages 12 hospitals and 15 senior villages and nursing homes throughout Kansas, where it employs more than 10,000 people, including 300 doctors and 117 mid-level providers. In March 2012, Ascension Via Christi Health was awarded HealthGrades America's 100 Best Hospitals Award. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marianne Cope</span> German-born American religious sister (1838–1918)

Marianne Cope, OSF, was a German-born American religious sister who was a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Syracuse, New York, and founding leader of its St. Joseph's Hospital in the city, among the first of 50 general hospitals in the country. Known also for her charitable works, in 1883 she relocated with six other sisters to Hawaiʻi to care for persons suffering leprosy on the island of Molokaʻi and aid in developing the medical infrastructure in Hawaiʻi. Despite direct contact with the patients over many years, Cope did not contract the disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of St. Joseph</span> Female Roman Catholic religious congregation

The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for Saint Joseph, has approximately 14,000 members worldwide: about 7,000 in the United States; 2,000 in France; and are active in 50 other countries.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ) are a Roman Catholic congregation of women religious which traces its origins to a group founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France around 1650 by Jean Pierre Medaille, S.J. The design of the congregation was based on the spirituality of the Society of Jesus. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet became a separate congregation of pontifical right on May 16, 1877.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita</span> Diocese of the Catholic Church

The Diocese of Wichita is a Latin Catholic ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in Kansas in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

Covenant Health Systems is a non-profit Catholic regional health care system sponsoring hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living residences and other health and elder services throughout New England.

The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi.

Ascension Michigan is a not-for-profit Catholic health system in the U.S. state of Michigan. A division of Ascension Health, it currently operates four hospitals in Southwestern Michigan, having previously operated in mid-Michigan and Metro Detroit. Prior to its acquisition by Ascension, it was headquartered in Warren, Michigan.

The Franciscan Sisters of the Poor are a religious congregation which was established in 1959 as an independent branch from the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of St. Francis, founded in Germany by Blessed Frances Schervier in 1845.

Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg is a 188-bed hospital located in Pittsburg, Kansas and operated by Ascension Ascension Via Christi Health.

Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare is a not-for-profit, Catholic health care system and housing organization sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, of Wheaton, Illinois. The system became a subsidiary of Ascension Health when the two merged in 2015. It operates more than 100 health and shelter service organizations in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The system has 18 hospitals, three long-term care facilities, and 70 clinics. Wheaton has 21,626 employees, including 3,543 physicians. The company's registered name is Wheaton Franciscan Services, Inc.

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The Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother are a Catholic congregation of Franciscan religious sisters founded in Rome, Italy, in 1883, who serve worldwide, particularly in the field of healthcare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franziska Streitel</span>

Franziska Streitel was a German religious sister in the Roman Catholic Church. Streitel founded the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother. In 2010 she was proclaimed to be venerable after the recognition of her life of heroic virtue.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercy Medical Center (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)</span> Hospital in Wisconsin, United States

Mercy Medical Center, officially Ascension Northeast Wisconsin Mercy Hospital, is a hospital founded in 1891 that serves the city of Oshkosh, in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. Its emergency department is a level III trauma center.

Bon Secours is a not-for-profit Marriottsville, Maryland-based Catholic health system founded in 1983 that owns, manages, or joint ventures 19 acute care hospitals, one psychiatric hospital, five nursing care facilities, four assisted living facilities and 14 home care and hospice programs in seven US states.

Ascension Via Christi St. Francis is a non-profit, 421-bed teaching hospital in Wichita, Kansas owned and operated by Ascension Via Christi Health.

References

  1. ↑ Siebenmark, Jerry. "Via Christi merges with St. Louis-based Ascension Health". Kansas.com. Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Via Christi Health Inc.: Private Company Information". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on May 5, 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  3. ↑ "Via Christi Health Quick Facts". Via Christi Health. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "Timeline of the Life of Mother Frances Streitel". Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "History of Via Christi Health". Via Christi Health. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  6. ↑ "The Hidden Chapel" . Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  7. 1 2 Rodak, Sabrina. "3 Via Christi Hospitals Revert to Original Names". Becker's Hospital Review. Becker's Hospital Review. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "The Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother Today". Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "Our Heritage". Congregation of St. Joseph. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  10. ↑ Heck, Josh (10 December 2010). "Via Christi closes on deal to acquire Wichita Clinic" . Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  11. ↑ Heck, Josh. "Via Christi takes over full ownership of Manhattan's Mercy Regional Health Center". Wichita Business Journal. Wichita Business Journal. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Kelsey, Ryan. "Via Christi takes full ownership of Mercy hospital in Manhattan". Kansas.com. Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  13. ↑ Kiger, Jeff (27 June 2011). "Mayo Clinic's Korsmo leaving for job in Kansas". The Post-Bulletin .
  14. ↑ "Mayo Clinic veteran named CEO of Via Christi Health". Wichita Business Journal. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  15. ↑ Siebenmark, Jerry (15 September 2011). "Listening tour is Via Christi CEO's first order of business". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  16. ↑ "HealthGrades: Via Christi Hospital Profile". HealthGrades. Retrieved 21 March 2012.

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