The story of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie in health care in Northern Ontario dates back to 1884 when the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto opened a hospital in Thunder Bay. This founding hospital, first housed in the convent and then in a hospital, was in response to the needs of the times - to care for those injured in the building of the railway. Thus began a tradition of caring and excellence

A great deal has changed since then! While these first hospitals were staffed by Sisters and a few lay nurses, today’s health centres are staffed by lay people and a few Sisters. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie responded to the call for health care in Northern Ontario towns and cities by building and sponsoring hospitals. Many people joined the Sisters in this healing ministry.

Since its inception in 1950, the Sudbury General Hospital of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, now St. Joseph’s Health Centre (SJHC), gradually expanded to provide a full range of health care services to its community.

The Government of Ontario’s Savings and Restructuring Act, 1996, brought about a change in the role of St. Joseph’s Health Centre. It also prompted an opportunity for the board of Trustees, under the sponsorship of the Catholic Health Corporation of Ontario, to search out unmet needs for health service in the Sudbury area. One of the outcomes of this process was the commitment of the St. Joseph’s Health Centre Board to build St. Joseph’s Villa, a new 128-bed long term care home. Through this commitment, a new vision has evolved which has as its central focus, St. Joseph’s Villa as a Centre of Excellence in Aging and Wellness.