Mt. Augustine, which now houses Regina Health Center, was built as the motherhouse for the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and opened in 1957. In the 1980s, a study conducted by the Diocese of Cleveland identified the need to expand long-term health care services for the aging religious in Northeast Ohio. The Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine responded to this need by developing and implementing plans for conversion of the Mt. Augustine Motherhouse, located on 230 acres in Richfield, into a state-of-the-art nursing facility dedicated to serving the aging religious. The Sisters raised more than $7.5 million to renovate and convert the facility for this important new use. As many as 22 orders within the Northeast Ohio diocesan community collaborated with the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine to ensure that their aging religious would receive the highest caliber health care services, along with supportive programs that would keep them spiritually, mentally and socially engaged. Regina Health Center opened in 1993 as the first collaborative health care facility of its kind in the United States.
Today, Regina Health Center meets the long-term health care needs of members of several Northeast Ohio religious congregations, clergy from the Dioceses of Cleveland and Youngstown, and lay persons seeking a faith-based community environment. Currently, 13 orders are represented at Regina Health Center from the Cleveland and Youngstown dioceses.
A Spiritual Foundation
Spirituality continues to remain our foundation today. It brings meaning and hope to residents and staff, which is why it is such an important part of the services Regina Health Center provides. From daily prayers and Mass to the beautiful grounds and gardens, and the way the staff treats each resident with respect and compassion, spirituality creates a peaceful and loving home for everyone at Regina Health Center.
Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and Sisters of Charity Health System
Long before the American workplace widely accepted women in professional roles, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine were directing major health care institutions, teaching in schools and developing new programs to provide needed human services. The first Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine in America served as the first public health nurses in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1851, they began an enduring legacy of responsive ministry, creative stewardship and an ongoing quest for social justice that lives on today. Throughout the years, the Sisters of Charity have been faithful to their mission to promote stronger collaboration and to encourage the development of new programs and services in response to unmet health and human service needs.
Today, Regina Health Center is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System, which was established in 1982 as the parent corporation for the sponsored ministries of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine.
The Sisters of Charity Health System continues the congregation's faith-based legacy of high quality, compassionate care in partnership with its co-ministers, who are the heart and hands of the ministry. The health system includes two acute care Catholic hospitals, two skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, three grantmaking foundations, and six health and human services organizations in Ohio and South Carolina.
The Sisters of Charity Health System embodies the values and philosophy of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and their mission to continue the healing ministry of Jesus Christ.
