Mary Health of the Sick                805-498-3644

THE HISTORY OF MARY HEALTH OF THE SICK HOSPITAL has its roots in the founding of the congregation, Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick, in the mid-19th century in Spain. From day one, the mission of the Servants of Mary has focused on caring for the sick and the elderly.

The Sisters came to the United States in 1914, establishing their first convent in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1928, they arrived in California to carry out their nursing ministry providing nursing care to people in their homes.

Three decades later, their longtime friend and supporter, Cardinal James Francis McIntyre, Archbishop of the burgeoning Los Angeles Archdiocese, told the Provincial Superior, Mother Acacia Lasa, of her wish to build a hospital with an attached convent to serve sick and convalescing women.

After much prayer and reflection, Mother Acacia decided to take on this challenge and build a hospital for women that would provide love, care, and dignity to the elderly and sick.

Sixty miles west of Los Angeles in the new city of Newbury Park, Mother Acacia discovered 13 acres of vacnt land, populated with only walnut trees. On May 18, 1964, a year and a-half after construction began, 11 Sisters moved into the unfurnished convent, sleeping on the bare floors. A month later, Cardinal McIntyre presided at the dedication for Mary Health of the Sick, blessing its 39 rooms and attached convent.

The name “Mary Health of the Sick” was chosen to represent the Sisters’ patroness and because “Health of the Sick” is one of the Blessed Mother’s titles given during the recitation of the rosary.

On July 1, 1964, Mary Health received its first residents. In just five months, the Sisters had cared for 57 ladies.