Our History

Wheaton Franciscan Services, Inc. (WFSI) was founded in 1983 as the parent corporation for the 21 health, shelter and human service organizations sponsored at that time by the Wheaton Franciscan Sisters. WFSI was incorporated to:

preserve and strengthen Judeo-Christian values,
provide a framework for lay expertise and involvement,
respond to an increasingly complex environment,
ensure continuity of Franciscan sponsorship, and
assure systemwide viability and excellence.

Yet, even as WFSI enters the 21st century, our guiding mission and values can be traced to the middle of the 19th century.

Thus, the following chronology of WFSI’s development as a major Catholic multi-institutional system in the United States begins with the vision of a young German woman, Clara Pfaender. Just as she saw the needs of the times, and formed a community of religious women for the purpose of responding to those needs, WFSI today continues to live out a proud legacy.

1860	Mother M. Clara Pfaender founds the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, in Olpe, Germany.
1872	Mother Clara sends three Sisters from Germany to establish a house of the Congregation in the United States, near St. Louis, Missouri. The Sisters found St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
1882	St. Mary’s Hospital is founded in Racine, Wisconsin.
1883	St. Joseph’s Hospital is founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1890	St. Clara’s Orphanage is founded in Denver, Colorado.
1894	St. Anthony’s Hospital and Provincial Motherhouse is founded in St. Louis, Missouri.
1899	St. Elizabeth Hospital is founded in Appleton, Wisconsin.

1912	St. Francis Hospital is founded in Waterloo, Iowa.
1941	St. Michael Hospital is founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1947	The Sisters move their provincial Motherhouse from the St. Louis area to Wheaton, Illinois, and subsequently become known as the Wheaton Franciscans.
1960	As early as the 1960s, lay persons begin to assume leadership roles at Franciscan-sponsored service organizations.
1968	No longer meeting a societal need, the Sisters closed St. Clara’s Orphanage in Denver, Colorado.
1972	The Sisters found Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital on the Motherhouse campus in Wheaton, Illinois. Francis Heights Housing community is opened in Denver, Colorado, on the site of the former orphanage.
1979	The Sisters form the Franciscan Sponsorship Commission (the predecessor corporation to WFSI) to explore the future of their sponsored ministries.
1981	The Sisters form a corporate restructuring task force to develop a new structure for the continuation of sponsorship and delivery of services.
1982	The Sisters of Mercy transfer sponsorship of Mercy Hospital in Oelwein, Iowa, to the Wheaton Franciscans. It is renamed Mercy Hospital of Franciscan Sisters.
1983	The Sisters found Wheaton Franciscan Service, Inc. (WFSI) as the parent organization for all of their corporate ministries. The Sisters name Sister Rose Mary Pint, O.S.F., Chairman of the Board and President and Chief Executive Officer.
1984	The Misericordia Sisters of Montreal, Quebec, transfer sponsorship of Elmbrook Memorial Hospital in Brookfield, Wisconsin, to the Wheaton Franciscans.
1985	Twenty-two religious communities in Milwaukee found SET (Service, Empowerment, Transformation) Ministry, Inc. as a collaborative model of health and human services for the poor. WFSI establishes the New Ministry Fund to assist organizations throughout the System with funding for direct services to the poor. It is later renamed the Clara Pfaender Fund.
1986	WFSI reorganizes, becoming one of the first multi-institutional systems in the nation to form market-based regional holding companies for all health provider services. WFSI establishes regional health care holding companies including WFSI-Fox Valley, WFSI-Illinois, WFSI-Milwaukee, and WFSI-Racine, and the Franciscan Iowa Service Corporation. WFSI forms O.S.F. Services, Inc. as a cross-regional holding company to integrate services that span marketplaces. Franciscan Ministries, Inc. reorganizes as the system holding company for all shelter and spiritual development services. WFSI names Wilfred F. Loebig, Jr., its first lay President and Chief Executive Officer, and Robert J. Makowski President of Sponsorship Services. Membership on the WFSI Corporate Board expands to include lay members. WFSI establishes Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, Iowa, by consolidating WFSI’s St. Francis Hospital and neighboring Schoitz Medical Center. The Misericordia Sisters of Montreal, Quebec, transfer sponsorship of Oak Park Hospital in Oak Park, Illinois, to the Wheaton Franciscans.
1987	WFSI adds a long-term care component to the System’s scope of services, acquiring 1,060 nursing home beds.
1990	WFSI initiates a Systemwide Human and Community Development Award Program, to recognize persons for their lifestyle expressions of mission and philosophy. Westlake Community Hospital (founded in 1925) in Melrose Park, Illinois, becomes a Wheaton Franciscan System affiliate by forming Synergon Health System with Oak Park Hospital. The Wheaton Franciscans transfer sponsorship of St. Anthony’s Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri, to lay residents of that community.
1991	St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital in Racine, Wisconsin, affiliates with Saint Mary’s Hospital and forms the All Saints Healthcare System, Inc. The Wheaton Franciscans transfer sponsorship of St. Francis Medical Center, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.

1993	WFSI-Milwaukee and St. Francis Health Care, Inc., Milwaukee, affiliate to create Covenant Healthcare, Inc.
1995	Wheaton Franciscan Services, Inc., enters into an agreement with the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother to form Affinity Health System in the Fox Valley region of Wisconsin.

1996	Franciscan Ministries, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, in cooperation with the Wheaton Franciscan Sisters opens Canticle Place on the Wheaton campus. The residential facility is designed for persons who are permanently disabled by HIV/AIDS.
1997	Sister Patricia Norton, O.S.F., becomes WFSI Board Chairperson and Chairperson of the Sponsorship Member Board. Bruce Elegant becomes President and Chief Executive Officer for Oak Park Hospital.

1998

Kathleen C. Yosko becomes President and Chief Executive Officer of Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital and Clinics, Wheaton, Illinois.

1999

St. Catherine’s Hospital and Kenosha Hospital and Medical Center sign an agreement to integrate operations under the holding company, United Hospital System, Inc. United names Richard Schmidt, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer.

Kenneth R. Buser becomes President and Chief Executive Officer of All Saints Healthcare System, Inc., Racine, Wisconsin.

Kevin Nolan becomes President and Chief Executive Officer of Affinity Health System, Menasha, Wisconsin.

2000

John D. Oliverio becomes President and Chief Executive Officer of WFSI.

The Wheaton Franciscan Sisters, the Sponsorship Member Board and the WFSI Board approve new Mission and Vision Statements for health care and housing.

Paul Dell Uomo becomes President and Chief Executive Officer of Covenant Healthcare System, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

2001	The Wheaton Franciscan Sisters and the WFSI Board of Directors approve a new Values Statement for the Wheaton Franciscan System. St. Joseph’s Hospital – Bluemound, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is renamed St. Joseph Ambulatory Care Center. Wheaton Franciscan Services, Inc. hosts its first Governance Conference for leaders and members of the boards from across the System. Marianjoy RehabLink, Wheaton, Illinois, changes its name to Marianjoy, Inc. to better clarify the identity of the organization.
2002	St. Joseph Hospital of Franciscan Sisters, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, changes its name to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. Sue Dillberg assumes the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of Franciscan Ministries, Inc. (FMI). In September, a group of Wheaton Franciscan System senior leaders and board members and nine Wheaton Franciscan Sisters journeyed to Italy on a pilgrimage to learn about St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi.
2003	Sr. Patricia Norton, O.S.F., resigns as chairperson of the Wheaton Franciscan Services, Inc. Board of Directors and the Sponsorship Member Board, effective July 1. Joseph Lewis becomes the first lay person in the history of WFSI to serve as board chair. Sr. Mary Beth Glueckstein, O.S.F., becomes chair of the Sponsorship Member Board. All Saints – St. Luke’s Hospital and All Saints – St. Mary’s Medical Center become a single provider, All Saints Medical Center. WFSI closes on the purchase of a building in Glendale, Wisconsin, that will house the new Wheaton Franciscan Services, Inc. Operations Center. The facility will include the Wheaton common data center, the supply chain function and decision support services.
2004	The Wisconsin Heart Hospital opens in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The specialized, $44 million, 127,000 square-foot facility focuses on comprehensive cardiac and vascular services. WFSI establishes first clinical pastoral education program to train and educate people who would like to become chaplains in health care and other related settings. Covenant corporate office relocates to the Wheaton Operations Center in Glendale, Wisconsin. WFSI is named “Champion for Change” by Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E). H2E recognizes regional hospitals as “Partners for Change.” In September, a group of Wheaton Franciscan System senior leaders and board members and nine Wheaton Franciscan Sisters journeyed to Italy on a pilgrimage to learn about St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi.
2005	Terry McGuire is named WFSI’s Senior Vice President of Mission Services as a result of the last Wheaton Franciscan Sister, Sr. Jane Madejczyk, leaving a management position within the organization. WFSI receives “Champion for Change” Award from Hospitals for a Healthy Environment.
2006	Paul Dell Uomo, President and Chief Executive Officer, announces his retirement as of January 31, 2006. John D. Oliverio, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wheaton Franciscan Services, Inc., assumes direct leadership responsibility at Covenant Healthcare System in Milwaukee concurrent with his leadership responsibilities for the Wheaton Franciscan organization. Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare becomes the “doing business as” name of the organization’s health care ministry. The Wheaton Franciscan System announces plans to build a health care facility focused on outpatient care in Franklin, Wisconsin. Daniel E. Neufelder becomes president and chief operating officer for Affinity Health System in Menasha, Wisconsin. Recognizing the importance of physicians in Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare’s success in southeast Wisconsin, the organization brings together the All Saints and Covenant medical groups under one leadership and governance structure—the Wheaton Franciscan Medical Group. Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare commits $50 million to implementing an Electronic Health Record. Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Milwaukee closes all inpatient and emergency room services at St. Michael Hospital and relocates them to other Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare hospitals. Several services, such as the Outpatient Surgery Center, Imaging, the Family Care Center and Pain Center, continue to operate on the campus, which is renamed Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Glendale.
2007	Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare becomes sole owner of The Wisconsin Heart Hospital. Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare once again receives the “Champions for Change” Award from Hospitals for a Healthy Environment.