The Sisters of Mercy Have Been Caring for Residents Since 1900
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The Sisters of Mercy has been providing affordable medical care for the people of western North Carolina for more than a century.
The organization is part of an international community of Roman Catholic women who have vowed to serve people suffering from poverty, sickness and lack of education. Sisters of Mercy began in Asheville in 1900, when three sisters opened an 18-bed tuberculosis sanatorium on French Broad Avenue.
Today, the group operates three Sisters of Mercy Urgent Care Centers in Buncombe County, as well as Health Designs, a program that provides on-site medical care for business and industry, and ARP/Phoenix, which focuses on substance abuse and other behavioral health programs.
“We provide basic medical care and treatment services to those who otherwise may not have alternatives and would have a hard time accessing them,” says Tim Johnston, president and chief executive officer for Sisters of Mercy Services Corp. “I enjoy knowing we’re making a big difference in the lives of people in this community who have a lot of need.”
In 2006, approximately 225,000 patient visits took place at Sisters of Mercy Services Corp. health-care facilities in North Carolina.
The organization is building a new facility, slated to open in 2008 that will house urgent care and medical care for business and industry on the first floor and administrative offices on the second floor.
“We have survived 108 years because we continue to identify community needs and change as those needs change,” Johnston says. “Our organizational values are sacredness of life, human dignity, mercy, justice, service and excellence, and they have consistently withstood the test of time.”
Story by Jessica Mozo
