Community gathers to honor, celebrate 100th anniversary of HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital in Oconto Falls

Oconto Falls, Wis. — A special Mass and community health fair to mark the 100th anniversary of HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital drew community members, and religious, community and hospital leaders to the hospital campus in Oconto Falls on Wednesday, June 1.

“Today is a beautiful culmination of our past, present and future,” said Chris Brabant, President and CEO, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital during an outdoor Mass of Celebration with The Most Reverend David L. Ricken, DD, JCL. “I want to thank our colleagues and providers, because without them we wouldn’t be able to care for our community; and it’s how they care for our patients that make them so special.”

In the Homily, The Most Reverend David L. Ricken echoed Brabant’s message of gratitude to colleagues and providers at HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital, particularly for their work amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. “On behalf of the community of faith, thank you,” he said. “You are the heroes in all of this, and you still are – day after day.”

Damond Boatwright, President and CEO of Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS), which operates 15 hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin, including HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital, also addressed those at the Mass of Celebration on Wednesday. He acknowledged the hospital’s history and significance in the community, and its transition from Community Memorial Hospital (CMH) to HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital eight years ago.

“When Community Memorial Hospital (CMH) joined HSHS in 2014, it aligned with our mission, vision and values, and the colleagues at CMH joined our Catholic health care family,” said Boatwright. “Our calling in Catholic health care is not to simply heal a person’s physical ailments. We are called to care for one’s body, mind and spirit. We are called to go above and beyond to help those in their time of need.”

Congressman Mike Gallagher, who represents Wisconsin’s 8th District in the U.S. House of Representatives also officially marked HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital’s 100th anniversary in the Congressional Record, which was presented to David Lally, Director of Advocacy for HSHS hospitals in Wisconsin during the June 1 events.

A certified critical access rural health hospital, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital offers 24-hour emergency care and a variety of other services at 855 S. Main St. in Oconto Falls. It also operates five rural health clinics in partnership with Prevea Health. This year, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital was named a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the U.S. by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. For a complete timeline of HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital’s history, please visit: https://www.hshs.org/StClare/About-Us/Our-History

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About HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital
HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital serves Oconto Falls and the surrounding communities as a federally designated critical access hospital with a 24-hour emergency department; inpatient and outpatient surgical and diagnostic services; cancer care; therapy and rehabilitation; wound care; the Almost Home Swing Bed program; and more. It was founded as Oconto Falls City Hospital in 1921 and became HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital in 2014 when it joined Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS). As an affiliate of HSHS, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital draws on the history of St. Francis of Assisi as it serves the health care needs of the region in Christ’s healing ministry, caring for all people. HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital also has five rural health center locations in affiliation with Prevea Health in Gillett, Lena, Mountain, Oconto Falls and Suring; and operates HSHS Pharmacies in Gillett and Oconto Falls, and HSHS Prescription Services (remote dispensing sites) in Lena, Mountain and Pulaski. In 2022, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital was named a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the U.S. by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. For more information about St. Clare, please visit: www.stclarememorial.org.

About Hospital Sisters Health System
Hospital Sisters Health System’s (HSHS) mission is to reveal and embody Christ’s healing love for all people through our high quality, Franciscan health care ministry. HSHS provides state-of-the-art health care to our patients and is dedicated to serving all people, especially the most vulnerable, at each of our 15 Local Systems and physician practices in Illinois (Breese, Decatur, Effingham, Greenville, Highland, Litchfield, O’Fallon, Shelbyville and Springfield) and Wisconsin (Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, Oconto Falls, Sheboygan and two in Green Bay). HSHS is sponsored by Hospital Sisters Ministries and Hospital Sisters of St. Francis is the founding institute. For more information about HSHS, visit www.hshs.org. For more information about Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, visit www.hospitalsisters.org.