St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital has a rich history dating back to May 21, 1922 when the Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland opened a hospital in a small dwelling, the “White House” to care for 23 patients. From these small beginnings has grown a Tertiary, adult acute care hospital serving the people of Newfoundland and Labrador for over 100 years.
1913: “White House” purchased from the Honorable E. M. Jackman to be operated by the Sisters of Mercy as a home for working girls
St Clare’s 1916
1921: The “White House” was renovated to serve as a hospital. Archbishop E.P. Roche laid plans for the improvement whish included sending a Sister of Mercy to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburg to train as a nurse
1922: May 21 St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital was officially opened to care for 23 patients Sister Mary Bernard Gladney, graduate nurse, was appointed Superintendent. The following year Sister Mary Aloysius Rawlins took on the position of superintendant
1939: New modern 100 bed building opened west of the “White House” on LeMarchant Road
St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital School of Nursing was opened with accommodations for the students in a duplex house next to the hospital
1941: First Graduation of St. Clare’s Nursing School- five graduates
1950: Opening of a large chapel and additional facilities for pediatric, obstetric and dietary services
– Our Lady of Lourdes window installed on chapel corridor in memory of Sister Mary Aloysius Rawlins who had been administrator of St. Clare’s for over twenty years.
1956: Board of Governors and Medical Advisory Committee established
1958: Our Lady of Lourdes Hall opened to accommodate 100 nursing students
1959: St. Clare’s granted its first full accreditation by Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation
1960: St. Clare’s was incorporated
1962: Opening of New wing on St. Clare Avenue to provide accommodation for 100 additional patients
1967: St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital Auxiliary set up. Mrs. Joan Parker Crosbie was first President
1963: Planning begun for another extension of hospital. 1968 Recognition as teaching hospital affiliated with Memorial University
1972: Golden Anniversary of the opening of St. Clare’s. New wing officially opened. Hospital population now increased to 300 patients
1975: Department of Pastoral Care established. Sister M. Carmelita Power appointed as Director
1978: Talbot House, a Residential Detoxification Center was opened on Deanery Avenue
1979: First Palliative Care Unit east of Montreal opened. The unit was transferred to the Leonard A. Miller Centre in 2002
1984: St. Clare’s was selected as one of ten test sites for a national computerized information management project
1985: Establishment of St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital Foundation
– Computers were introduced- Meditech system for patient information
1994: St. Clare’s sold to provincial government and incorporated into Health Care Corporation of St. John’s, 1995
– Opening of LeMarchant House, a mental health day program/centre
1995: St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital Advisory Council was established to foster Mission, Values and Ethics
2004: Sisters of Mercy donated a ceramic mural “For Mercy Has a Human Heart” placed in the front entrance. Artist – Gerald Squires
2005: Eastern Health, Regional Authority established for administration of all health care services in Avalon, Burin and Bonavista Peninsulas, including St. Clare’s
A photo of St. Clare’s showing the growth of the hospital over the years
Join us in celebrating 194 years of committed service to the poor, the sick and the uneducated using our reflection, exploring 
Over the next several years she devoted herself to caring for her brother’s children and translating Greek and Latin classics. The Sisters of Mercy arrived in St. John’s in June of 1842 and sometime later that year she entered the community. The Presentation Archives noted that she had “at last found her true home.”