Carondelet Legacy Stories
Celebrating 145 Years
Carondelet has a long and rich history that spans decades. Founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the congregation was originally established in France. The Sisters came to the United States in 1836 to serve the diocese in Carondelet, Missouri.
In 1870, seven Sisters of St. Joseph traveled from San Diego to Tucson to open a school. In 1880, the Sisters opened St. Mary’s Hospital, Arizona’s first hospital. In 1961, they opened St. Joseph’s Hospital to provide services for Tucson’s growing east side. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet began managing Holy Cross in 1981 and assumed ownership in 1987.
The Remarkable Journey of Phyllis Ethridge
Let’s look back to someone who made an incredible impact on our community through her work as a nurse and St. Mary’s Hospital Administrator, Phyllis Ethridge. In 1956, at the age of 17, she left her home in Boston to attend St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing, where she earned her bachelor’s degree. She later went on to earn her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Arizona.
Phyllis served as St. Mary’s Hospital’s Vice President of Patient Care Services for 23 years. In that time, she created an innovative model that’s been duplicated across the country and internationally since – the model for a community-based, nurse-managed system of care. This revolutionary model integrates the hospital, home health, and hospice. If that weren’t enough, she created one of the United States’ first nursing health-maintenance organizations (HMO), which helped the elderly in southern Arizona.
Phyllis was undoubtedly a trailblazer who had a profound impact on Carondelet Health Network’s history as well as healthcare in general. Her 41 years of dedicated service to Carondelet St. Mary’s Hospital are honored.