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The CHRISTUS Legacy
Early in CHRISTUS St. Joseph's history, Sisters struggle to establish Paris, Texas hospital
The origin of St. Joseph’s Health System dates to 1896 when the Sisters of Mercy operated a 16-bed hospital in a boarding school near downtown Paris, Texas. But a lack of funds forced the Sisters to give up their mission in 1910.
Determined that the hospital should not pass from Catholic sponsorship, Bishop John P. Lynch of Dallas purchased the property and later sold it to the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. After several months of agonizing labor and severe tests of faith, six Sisters reopened St. Joseph's Infirmary on Oct. 1, 1911. The two-story, 16-bed infirmary formed the nucleus of the later-day CHRISTUS St. Joseph’s Health System.
The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, founded in Lyons, France in 1866, had come to Texas at the request of the bishop of Galveston to "aid the sick and the infirm." These hardy predecessors of the Sisters arriving in Paris, Texas had traveled for several weeks over almost non-existent roads to San Antonio to establish a convent and infirmary in 1869. The Sisters who arrived in Paris in 1911 had responded to the need for quality health care in Paris, Texas.
Almost immediately they began plans to replace the old, original wooden structure with a three-story brick building that would be totally self-sufficient. The Sisters made room in the hospital for both the sick and the homeless to help Paris take its first small step toward revival after a devastating fire.
In 1964, a new addition raised the four-story hospital's capacity to 106 beds, with a floor space of 101,823 square feet. By the mid 1970's, a fifth floor was providing for three of the four wings.
In 1977, a study of the obstetrical department at St. Joseph's showed that it had been underutilized over the past five years and operating at a substantial loss. Thus, the unit was replaced with a hemodialysis unit to respond to an urgent need for such service within the community.
The 1980s brought numerous expansion projects to St. Joseph's, including a Home Health Program, a hospice program, the Tijerina-Dunnington Urology Clinic, the Sister Mary Eustace Farrell Aerofit Center, a 21-bed, guesthouse and the St. Joseph's Hospital Delta County Clinic - the first in a series of rural health clinics opened and operated by the hospital during ensuing years. The hospital also changed its name to St. Joseph's Hospital and Health Center and created the St. Joseph's Foundation.
John D. Koobs, the first layman appointed president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph's, opened a new $1.5 million catheterization laboratory in 1991.
Among CHRISTUS St. Joseph's other major 1990s projects was the purchase of PrimeTime, the system's program for seniors. Also, the CHRISTUS St. Joseph's Auxiliary funded heliport project for air ambulances.
Other expansions to CHRISTUS St. Joseph's included a second cardiac catherization lab in March of 1999, and a new open MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine in the Red River Radiology unit.
In 2003, Essent Healthcare purchased CHRISTUS St. Joseph's from CHRISTUS Health. Click here for a related news release.
