St Vincents & Mater Health Sydney comprises St Vincent’s Hospital, Sacred Heart Hospice, St Vincent’s Private Hospital, the Mater Hospital, St Joseph’s Hospital and St Joseph’s Village. Collectively, SV&MHS provides a range of acute and sub-acute services from primary prevention through to tertiary level care across community, outpatient and inpatient settings, as well as residential aged care. In partnership with universities and affiliated research institutes, the work of SV&MHS is supported by a significant investment in teaching and research.
many journeys. one vision. | CORPORATE INFORMATION
St Vincents & Mater Health Sydney (SV&MHS) is the NSW based arm of St Vincent’s Health Australia, formerly the Sisters of Charity Health Service group, which together with its partners, is one of Australia’s leading Catholic not-for-profit diversified healthcare providers. St Vincent’s Health Australia is the health ministry of Mary Aikenhead Ministries.
Our history The facilities comprising SV&MHS have a diverse and rich history, grounded in the Gospel. All were founded by the Religious Congregation of the Sisters of Charity or, in the case of the Mater, by the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney. These dedicated, energetic religious women, in pursuing their Christian ministry, have always engaged broad based community support to respond to the healthcare needs of those they serve, especially among the poor and disadvantaged. St Vincents & Mater Health Sydney continues to express the healing ministry of the Sisters of Charity and the Sisters of Mercy. St Vincents & Mater Health Sydney was established in January 2001 by the joining together of the Sisters of Charity health facilities at Darlinghurst and the Mater Hospital, which was formerly owned by the Sisters of Mercy. In March 2005, St Joseph’s Hospital and St Joseph’s Village at Auburn joined SV&MHS, bringing all the NSW health facilities of the Sisters of Charity under an integrated organisational and governance structure. Together, the facilities provide acute medical, surgical, obstetric and diagnostic services in a comprehensive range of specialties; sub-acute services (palliative care and rehabilitation); medical and nursing teaching and research; mental health, drug and alcohol, community health and homeless health services; aged care medical and residential services and general community health programs.
On July 1 2009, Mary Aikenhead Ministries was established by the Congregation of Religious Sisters of Charity of Australia to continue the Congregation’s various health and aged care, education and welfare ministries. One of the major objectives of Mary Aikenhead Ministries is to continue to build on the charism and traditions of the Sisters of Charity of Australia to ensure that each of the works for which it is responsible operates in conformity with the teaching, discipline and law of the Roman Catholic Church. The new entity was granted Canonical status as a public juridic person of pontifical right by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The establishment of Mary Aikenhead Ministries marks one of the first times a public juridic person of Pontifical Right has been granted in Australia and sets an important precedent for other religious orders in the country. In 2011, St Vincent’s Hospital, the Mater Hospital, St Joseph’s Hospital and St Joseph’s Village recognised the change to Mary Aikenhead Ministries with the unveiling of the Mary Aikenhead Ministries crest.
01 The gardens at Sacred Heart Annual Review 2010/11
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