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HM Sisters at the Helm in Healthcare Three Sisters of the Humility of Mary served as CEOs in the healthcare industry
By Mary Cay Doherty, School Archivist and Social Studies Faculty Member
While women increasingly entered teaching and nursing fields in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they were not routinely in leadership roles. In hospitals and schools sponsored by women religious congregations, however, Catholic sisters ministered at all levels, including administrative and board leadership positions.
The Sisters of the Humility of Mary, who founded Magnificat High School, opening their first hospital in 1879 to care for injured railroad workers in the New Bedford, Pennsylvania, area. By the 1900s, HM sisters operated and staffed three hospitals in Northeast Ohio: St. Elizabeth in Youngstown, St. Joseph Riverside in Warren, and St. Joseph in Lorain.
As healthcare administration became more complex, many top hospital leaders held the title “President/Chief Executive Officer,” including three HM Sisters: Sister Susan Schorsten, HM, Sister Mildred Ely, HM, and Sister Frances Flanigan, HM.
Sister Susan Schorsten, HM, ministered as a registered nurse and then as a mental health nurse clinician. She loved patient care, but upon learning that the community needed healthcare administrators, and with the HM pastoral leader’s support, she discerned the call to earn a master’s degree in healthcare administration. Soon after, she was named President and CEO of St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown.
Despite some initial trepidation due to her inexperience at age 37, she faithfully trusted the “God of Surprises” in responding to the needs of the times as she shepherded St. Elizabeth from October 1981 to July 1993. As CEO, she learned the importance of listening and “trusting the gifts and ideas of others.”
During her novitiate, Sister Mildred Ely, HM, felt called to meet the congregation’s need for Sister pharmacists. One of only two Sisters who ministered in this male-dominated field, Sister Millie served as a pharmacist and as the assistant director of the pharmacy department at St. Joseph Hospital in Lorain for eight years. In 1978, she again responded to the community’s need and pursued a master’s degree in healthcare administration before serving as the assistant administrator at St. Joseph Riverside Hospital in Warren. In 1983, she was named the hospital’s President and CEO, and she remained in that role until 1995.
When faced with difficult decisions as CEO, Sister Millie focused on “continuing Jesus’ healing ministry by providing quality and compassionate medical care to all.” She also worked to “grow the spirit of St. Joe’s Hospital by recognizing the values and gifts of each employee, physician, and volunteer.”
Sister Frances Flanigan, HM, ministered as a teacher and principal before serving in the Diocese of Cleveland’s Department of Education as an area supervisor and then as the Secretary of Education for eight years.
In 1985, she faithfully answered her community’s call to minister as director for the newly created Humility of Mary Healthcare System, an umbrella organization for HMsponsored hospitals. In 1989, she was named President and CEO and served in that role until 1998. Sister Frances passed away in 2010.
Sister Susan and Sister Millie were the last HM Sisters to lead their respective hospitals. Knowing that collaboration strengthens their ministries, the HM Community asked laypeople to lead their sponsored hospitals from the mid1990s forward.
Sister Susan later served as the HM Pastoral Leader and as the Director for Social Ministry in the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina. She also ministered as a consultant for religious congregations. Today, she is active in retreat ministry and volunteers at Her Place, a transitional home for women who are homeless.
In addition to her own HM Leadership Team service, Sister Millie ministered as the system chair on the Catholic Healthcare Partners board and as chair of the Mercy Health Youngstown boards. She also served on the Mercy Health Toledo board. Today, she ministers on the Mercy Health Youngstown board as a Sponsor Representative.
“Our HM hospitals provide service by sharing in the healing mission of Jesus and by bringing more abundant life to God’s people, especially those who are poor and underserved.”
—Sister Mildred Ely, HM
Sister Frances once said, “If you’re not flexible, you’re out of the healthcare business.” Indeed, the HM Sisters’ flexibility and careful stewardship ensures the continuation of their healthcare ministry. For these CEO Sisters and the HM Congregation, however, healthcare is more than a business. It is the living embodiment of the HM Mission. The sisters’ hospitals are now part of the Bon Secours Mercy Health system, which contributes $1.3 million a day in charity care through medical services across five states. These dollars focus specifically on meeting the healthcare needs of those experiencing poverty, homelessness, racism, and inadequate access to medical care.
Of her ministry work, Sister Susan said, “I have always kept the HM Mission before me: to bring more abundant life to all those with whom I engage.”
In the 1980s and 1990s, Sr. Susan, Sr. Millie, and Sr. Frances were Missiondriven CEOs who worked tirelessly to ensure the viability of HMsponsored healthcare into the 21st century, and in doing so, enriched the lives of countless people.
