Company Profile
Via Christi Health System
Company Overview
Via Christi Health System's rich history of serving the people of Kansas and the surrounding region dates back more than 100 years to the healing ministries of our founding congregations. Today, Via Christi Health System is the largest provider of healthcare services in Kansas. We serve Kansas and northeast Oklahoma through our 10 owned or co-owned medical centers, 12 senior services communities and programs, our retail (home-based) and outpatient services, and Preferred Health Systems insurance company.
In FY 2007, Via Christi Health System provided $81.9 million in benefit to the communities we serve. This includes more than $36 million in charity care and more than $28 million in unpaid costs of Medicaid services provided. Our health system employs more than 9,000 and, in FY 2007, generated $1.2 billion in revenue.
Via Christi Health System is affiliated with the Marian Health System and Ascension Health.
Company History
Via Christi Health System
On October 1, 1995, two ministries with rich histories came together to form Via Christi Health System. During the course of the previous century, the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wichita experienced difficult as well as prosperous times, while concurrently pursuing healing ministries.
Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother
In 1889, Mother M. Frances Streitel, foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, dispatched members of her newly-formed congregation to America. After surveying needs in many communities, the Sisters learned of St. Francis Hospital - a dilapidated and seemingly doomed medical facility in Wichita, Kansas. The Sisters took charge of St. Francis, and within a decade had turned the sinking ship toward prosperity.
The Sisters stayed busy during the 19th century, establishing health care ministries throughout Wisconsin and in Denville, New Jersey. The congregation has continued its growth in healthcare and education with ministries established in Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Iowa, New Jersey and several foreign nations.
Sisters of St. Joseph of Wichita
When the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wichita first arrived in Kansas in the late 19th century, education was top priority. The Sisters opened a school in Newton, Kan. in 1883--20 years later--they moved into health care, opening a hospital in Pittsburg, Kan. At Mt. Carmel Hospital, the Sisters cared primarily for immigrant miners and their impoverished families. Throughout the past century, the Sisters have expanded their health care ministry throughout Kansas, sponsoring both hospitals and senior communities. In 1925, the congregation assumed responsibility for Wichita Hospital and, in 1941, the Sisters began construction on the new St. Joseph Hospital (now Via Christi-St. Joseph).
In 2007, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wichita joined with six other congregations of Sisters of St. Joseph to form the Congregation of St. Joseph, which exercises its health care ministries through Ascension Health. The Wichita-based Sisters maintain a motherhouse in Wichita and continue their ministries at Via Christi's medical centers as well as other ministries to serve low-income individuals and those escaping domestic violence.
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
Via Christi Health System combines a century-old tradition of compassionate care with today's leading edge technology to offer quality care with less pain and faster recovery for patients. Our outpatient surgery and imaging centers and home medical services offer quality care and convenience. Our innovative senior living communities and programs help seniors remain at home longer and live more independently even as their needs may change. Preferred Health Systems helps businesses provide an important employee benefit while containing healthcare costs.
Benefits
Flexible Spending Accounts, Tuition Reimbursement, Adoption, Health Club Discount