About Us
The SCL Health System (SCLHS) was formed in 1972 to strengthen and unify the health care facilities sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. The SCLHS System is made up of 11 hospitals and four stand-alone clinics located in the states of California, Colorado, Kansas, and Montana. As part of the healing mission of the Catholic Church, SCLHS and its Hospitals and Clincs witness to the Gospel of Jesus by striving to provide quality health care in a spirit of justice and charity. SCLHS has a rich history and continues its ministry today through a commitment to our Mission, vision and values.
The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth trace their origin as a religious community to the 1600s in France where Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac established the Daughters of Charity. These religious women were dedicated to serving the sick and poor through an active ministry. This heritage and tradition serves as a foundation for our health ministry today. In 1864, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth opened the first private hospital in Kansas, with the first trained nurse in the state and surely the first woman in the Western territory to run a hospital. This woman, Sister Joanna Bruner, also taught nursing care to other sisters.
From 1864 to 1952, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth established or assumed responsibility for 18 hospitals from Kansas to California. Since that time, professional excellence, leadership, and a readiness to undertake whatever needed doing have been hallmarks of the “SCL” community. Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver, a core Care Site of SCLHS, was founded by the Sisters in 1873 and is the oldest private teaching hospital in Colorado. Today, the not-for-profit SCLHS has annual revenues of $2.7 billion with 11 owned care sites, one1 managed care site and four safety net clinics in 4 states, more than 100 ambulatory locations and over 15,000 associates.
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