The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace is giving PeaceHealth $1 million to establish an endowment fund. That fund will support the health system's Leadership in Ministry formation programming.
PeaceHealth's mission integration department offers Leadership in Ministry to leaders from the supervisory to the C-suite levels. The sisters' gift will help to ensure the formation program's sustainability. The Vancouver, Washington-based system has nine medical centers and more than 160 clinics in Alaska, Oregon and Washington.
In a press release, PeaceHealth President and CEO Sarah Ness said the "extraordinary commitment from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace reflects their enduring belief in the importance of mission-centered leadership."
A Northwestern U.S. network
PeaceHealth traces its origins to 1890, when two Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace left their convent in Newark, New Jersey, to establish a hospital nearly 3,000 miles away. They opened St. Joseph Hospital near present-day Bellingham, Washington, to meet the healthcare needs of loggers, mill workers, fishermen and their families.
Over time, the sisters established a network of facilities that they brought together under a corporate structure in 1970 and named PeaceHealth in 1994. In 1997, that health system's board of trustees transitioned into a private pontifical juridic person. This structure allows for lay participation in sponsorship.
There now are 90 St. Joseph of Peace sisters between Washington, New Jersey and the United Kingdom. Several sisters remain active on the boards of PeaceHealth and its hospitals.
The Leadership in Ministry program helps to carry on the sisters' legacy amid near ubiquitous lay involvement systemwide. According to the press release on the gift and endowment, the sisters have played an integral role in Leadership in Ministry "to help connect PeaceHealth leaders to the founding spirit of PeaceHealth" and to "invite each generation of caregivers to carry that legacy forward in their own work."
Sr. Andrea Nenzel, congregational leader and vice chair of the PeaceHealth board of directors, said in the release, "Our history has always been rooted in a deep commitment to care for others with compassion and dignity. Leadership in Ministry helps bring that history to life for today's caregivers."
Cohort-based formation
The Leadership in Ministry program began about two decades ago. It is a cohort-based program that begins with a two-day retreat at St. Mary-on-the-Lake, the western home of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in Bellevue, Washington.
The retreat is followed by monthly virtual learning sessions that cover topics critical to leading a Catholic healthcare ministry. The cohort participants also take part in quarterly volunteerism opportunities with community-based organizations. The sisters have played an integral role in shaping Leadership in Ministry, including by sharing their history, values and charism with participants.
The formation program gives leaders a chance to step away from the pace of daily work to reflect on their purpose, deepen their understanding of healthcare as a healing ministry and strengthen how they lead and serve. The formation roots the participants in the sisters' charism of compassion, dignity and commitment to the whole person, said the release.
Releasing the charism
Congregation Treasurer Sr. Susan Francois said the sisters funded their gift through the recent sale of a property in the Archdiocese of Seattle. She said as the congregation's demographics change and more sisters move to the sisters' regional center, the congregation evaluates the best use of vacant properties to fund their mission.
"When we sell a property, we are committed to reinvesting the proceeds directly into efforts that support our charism of peace through justice," Sr. Francois added. "The Leadership in Ministry program will help release our charism at PeaceHealth for years to come."
The sisters invite anyone who is interested to help fund the endowment as well.