Overview

St John of God Health Care is a ministry of the Catholic Church.

As a leading provider of high quality healthcare services that include hospitals, home nursing, disability and outreach services throughout Australia, New Zealand and the wider Asia-Pacific region, we strive to serve the common good and provide holistic, ethical care and support for the individual.

As a not-for-profit group, we return all surpluses to the communities we serve by updating and expanding our facilities and technology, developing new services, investing in people and providing social outreach services to people experiencing disadvantage.

Inspired by the religious women and men who founded our organisation, our services reflect a generosity of spirit that calls us to enthusiastically go beyond what might be expected. We stand in solidarity with people in their joy and suffering to deliver our services with a human touch.

Vision, Mission and Values

Vision

Our Vision for St John of God Health Care is that we live and proclaim the healing touch of God’s love. We invite people to discover the richness and fullness of their lives, give them a reason to hope, and a greater sense of their own dignity.

Mission

Our Mission is to continue the healing mission of Jesus Christ through the provision of services that promote life to the full by enhancing the physical, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual dimensions of being human.

Values

Our Values that guide us are:

Hospitality

A welcoming openness to all; to the familiar and the mystery of self, people, ideas, experiences, nature and to God.

Compassion

Feeling with others in their discomfort or suffering, striving to understand the other’s experience with a willingness to reach out in solidarity.

Respect

The attitude which treasures the unique dignity of every person, and recognises the sacredness of all creation.

Justice

A balanced and fair relationship with self, our neighbour, all of creation and with God.

Excellence

Giving the optimum standard of care and service within the scope of available resources.

Service Ethos

Service is central to how we bring the Mission to life at St John of God Health Care. Our development programs aim to support and develop our caregivers in providing distinctive service.

The key tenets of our Service Ethos are:

• Our Mission inspires our service – we are continuing a great story of service entrusted to us by our founders.
• Relationships are central – every encounter is an opportunity and can have far-reaching effects.
• The way we work together as a community, in our own teams and with other teams, is integral in our effectiveness.
• Governance and management of resources are key to our success.
• Feedback and evaluation about how well we are doing is crucial.

Our symbol

The pomegranate symbol represents our heritage – as the original symbol of the Sisters of St John of God – and our vision for the future. The cross is the symbol of Christianity, reminding us of Jesus’ suffering and our call to follow in His footsteps. Our five Values are reflected in the five seeds of the pomegranate, which is open to allow the seeds to scatter, providing new life and symbolising the generosity of self-giving to people in need.

Founding story

Saint John of God devoted his life to alleviating human suffering, and comforted the afflicted, sick and dying. He was particularly passionate about combating the great injustices experienced by people disadvantaged through illness or destitution.

The Congregation of the Sisters of St John of God was founded in Wexford, Ireland, in 1871. Word of their skill in healthcare spread rapidly and in 1895 eight Sisters were asked by Perth’s Bishop, Matthew Gibney, to travel to the Western Australian goldfields to care for the typhoid stricken. The Sisters went on to establish hospitals, pathology and social outreach services.

The Brothers of St John of God, or the Hospitaller Order of St John of God, came to Australia from Ireland in 1947 to care for people experiencing disadvantage. They began ministries in New South Wales, Victoria and New Zealand, focusing initially on helping those with learning difficulties and intellectual disability, then on psychiatric care and child and family social services.

St John of God Health Care today reflects the wisdom and inspiration of those Sisters and Brothers, as well as the many others who have contributed to our organisation, including the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition, various Mercy congregations, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, the Sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood, and the secular traditions of those parts of our ministry sourced outside the Catholic sector.

Structure

St John of God Health Care is a wholly owned and controlled entity of St John of God Australia Ltd, a civil and canon law entity established in 2004 to sponsor the ministry previously sponsored by the Sisters of St John of God. The Sisters are members of St John of God Australia Ltd together with the majority of the dioceses in which we operate, as well as the Hospitaller Order of St John of God. This collaboration ensures a structure of sound and continuing governance and stewardship.

The non-executive Trustees of St John of God Health Care appoint members of the Board. The Board provides direction and guidance to the Group Chief Executive Officer and through him the Group Management Committee, which oversees performance in our five key result areas.

Key result areas

Our key result areas inform our annual Group Business Plan. Further detail on these result areas and our progress against our 2016-17 Group Business Plan can be found in our strategic update (p26-30) and throughout the Annual Report.