One winter’s day in 1921 four Sisters of Charity boarded a stream train at Sydney’s dusty Central Station for a 700-plus kilometre journey to Lismore in the state’s northeast.
They were answering a call to serve the people of the river-side town and wider region which was rapidly growing thanks to its thriving dairy industry, but lacking adequate local health care.
Fast forward 100 years and St Vincent’s is celebrating its centenary in the midst of a pandemic but with the same undaunted spirit of dedicated service that arrived with those selfless religious sisters.
Australia’s only diocesan owned and operated hospital is now an acute surgical, medical, rehabilitation and palliative care hospital providing an increasingly wide range of services and around 170 accredited specialists.
Lismore Bishop Greg Homeming OCD said that the Catholic hospital holds a significant place in the Northern Rivers community, particularly in Lismore which is now a city in its own right with a population of more than 40,000.
St Vincent’s chairperson Damian Chapelle said the milestone provided a time of reflection. “There is no doubt St Vincent’s has a special place in the story of the healthcare of our region and I firmly believe that legacy will continue well into the future,” he said.
Credit: Catholic Weekly