Overview
Providence Health & Services traces its beginnings to 1843, when a religious community of Catholic women was founded in Montreal, Quebec. Soon to be called the Sisters of Providence, this community grew from the work of a young widow, Emilie Gamelin, who dedicated her resources and ultimately her life to service for others. In 1856, Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart and four other Sisters of Providence arrived in Vancouver, Washington Territory. Within months of their arrival, the pioneer sisters began caring for elderly men and women, orphaned children and the sick in what was called the “Providence Enclosure.” By 1858 they opened St. Joseph Hospital, the first hospital in the Northwest. The Sisters of Providence incorporated their acts of charity in 1859, and word of their good works quickly spread across Washington Territory. Today the legacy of those first pioneer sisters lives on in the dedication and commitment of all who have joined in the Providence Mission of service.
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