Annually on July 16th, OSF HealthCare celebrates Founders Day, a day set aside to honor the courageous beginnings of OSF HealthCare. Vice President of Operations and Special Projects at OSF Holy Family, Diane Driscoll, shares the history surrounding the start of OSF:
“This date marks the arrival of six Franciscan Sisters, led by Sister M. Frances Krasse in Peoria, Illinois. In 1877, they opened a Catholic hospital that would become Saint Francis Medical Center; really about the founding of our organization by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis and celebrates the mission that continues to guide our care today. The Sisters were originally expelled from Germany due to religious persecution, and they first settled in Iowa, they did not start off in Illinois. They were facing financial hardships and began fundraising trips where they came to visit Peoria. The change for them was Father Bernard Baak having them return to open a Catholic hospital. So, despite having limited resources, they accepted the call with courage and faith.”
As for OSF Holy Family Medical Center in Monmouth, Driscoll shares the Monmouth Hospital was founded in 1897 and was not integrated into OSF until April of 2007. As of this year, Holy Family has been serving the local community for 128 years.
