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St. Francis Health: How It Started…How It's Going
The original Sanitarium building as pictured in 1923
Saundra Wyatt Nalley, St. Francis Health Director of Marketing
Where We Came From
In 1911, six Franciscan Sisters left their homes in Calais, France, and selflessly set sail across the ocean at the request of Bishop Van de Ven of Alexandria, Louisiana, to open a hospital there.
The mission of this new sanitarium, named after St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the Franciscan Sisters, would be to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ to God’s people, especially those most in need. On the opening day, July 22, 1913, the St. Francis Sanitarium and School of Nursing had four patients. By late September, 193 had been admitted. Mother de Bethanie wrote in her diary, “That the hospital be located in Monroe was God’s plan. Everything went so smoothly and fell right into place.”
WHERE WE ARE NOW
When St. Francis Health celebrated 100 years of service to the Northeast Louisiana community in 2013, the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Sisters pledged an even brighter second century in Monroe.
Since the beginning of 2019, St. Francis Medical Center leaders have been following through on the Sisters’ promise with the investment of nearly $20 million with plans to spend an additional $20 million each year over the next three years on a variety of technology additions and facility improvements. Even more exciting is the hospital’s commitment for future renovations, improvements and technology across its ministry with a promise to continue to move St. Francis Forward.
Generations of families have trusted St. Francis Health with their healthcare over the past 110 years. Just as their founding Sisters did, St. Francis Health providers and team members continue to answer the call to serve by extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ to God’s people —especially those most in need.
