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 The Sisters of Charity, a religious congregation within the Catholic Church, was founded in Ireland by Mother Mary Aikenhead in 1815. Five Sisters came to Australia in 1838 and gradually established hospitals and schools to cater for the sick and the uneducated, especially those who were most disadvantaged. In 1996 the Sisters health and aged care facilities throughout Australia, now numbering almost 20, were amalgamated into the Sisters of Charity Health Service under a National Board and Executive.
St Vincent’s Brisbane Hospital
The Kangaroo Point campus on which St Vincent’s Brisbane Hospital stands, was given to the Sisters of Charity by Miss Mary Bedford in honour of her good friend Dr Lilian Cooper, the first woman doctor registered in Queensland. Miss Bedford's wish was that the Sisters would establish a hospice for the sick and dying especially those who were poor. The foundation stone of St Vincent’s Brisbane Hospital was laid by James Duhig, the Archbishop of Brisbane, in 1954, and the building opened in 1957. Mother Giovanni Ackman was appointed first Administrator. Through her and her supporters valiant fundraising efforts and with the eventual help of government funding, the facility was placed on a secure footing. St Vincent’s Brisbane has remained true to the original vision of its founders.
The Growth of St Vincent’s Brisbane
St Vincent’s Brisbane Hospital is part of Kangaroo Point Campus which continues to expand and respond to the changing needs of our community. In 1977 the Marycrest Retirement Centre, the Lilian Cooper Nursing Home, and the Giovanni chapel were completed. In 1997 the services offered on the Kangaroo Point campus were consolidated into four Care Centres: hospice and home care; rehabilitation services; interim care; and the residential aged care services. In 1999 the Julien Pearson Transitional Care Unit was established. In 2001 the Brisbane Rehabilitation and Medical Service catering for private patients was opened.
Recent Development
In 2000, four other residential aged care campuses, formally administered by the Archdiocesan Aged Care Office, namely those at Mitchelton, Rainworth, Enoggera and Gympie became part of St Vincent’s Brisbane Community Services. In this same year, the Sisters of Charity and the Holy Spirit Health Service Queensland, now known as St Vincent's & Holy Spirit Health which incorporates St Vincent’s Brisbane Community Services, St Vincent's Hospital Toowoomba and the Holy Spirit Northside Hospital, was formed.
St Vincent's Brisbane has commenced work on a major upgrade and extension to its facilities to create a general medical hospital of excellence specialising in the area of general medicine, gerontology, palliative care, rehabilitation and other specialised programs focussing on chronic disease management;
The redevelopment of the Hospital will allow for the introduction of new services and for existing services to be strengthened;
The Hospital's redevelopment is part of a wider master plan currently under review for the whole Kangaroo Point site;
The first phase (estimated at $37 million) is forecast for completion by mid-2010
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