About Catholic Health

Well-Established History of Caring for Long Islanders

Catholic Health was founded in 1997 by the Diocese of Rockville Centre and encompasses facilities and services that originated as charitable institutions under the sponsorship of religious sponsors. Reaching back more than a century, various congregations of women religious shared a profound commitment to helping those in need on Long Island:

• Toward the end of the 19th century, four Sisters of St. Dominic traveled from Germany to serve the needs of immigrants, soon establishing a school, an orphanage and two hospitals. In 1894, they opened a convalescent home, known today as Our Lady of Consolation Nursing & Rehabilitation.
• The Daughters of Wisdom, originally from France, founded St. Charles Hospital in 1907 and Good Samaritan University Hospital in 1959.
• Three nuns from the Congregation of the Infant Jesus began nursing the sick poor in 1905, and that work eventually grew into Nursing Sisters Home Care, which—now known as Catholic Health Home Care—became part of Catholic Health in 1998. Often referred to as the Nursing Sisters of the Sick Poor, this congregation also founded Mercy Hospital, the very first Catholic hospital in Nassau County, in 1913.
• St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center was founded by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in 1922. By 1949, St. Francis Hospital was the largest hospital in the U.S. dedicated to pediatric cardiac care and today is one of the nation’s leading cardiac centers.
• St. Catherine of Siena Hospital joined Catholic Health in 2000, and St. Joseph Hospital became part of the system in 2010.
• Our Continuing Care Division also comprises Good Samaritan Nursing & Rehabilitation, St. Catherine of Siena Nursing & Rehabilitation and Good Shepherd Hospice.