St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma is about to celebrate a big anniversary – 125 years.
Sister Jude Connelly and Sister Anne McNamara have several decades of history at the hospital between them. Now both are retired nurses, but they both sit on the hospital’s board.
“In my history, this building wasn’t here when I first encountered St. Joe’s,” said Sister Connelly, who said she first attended nursing school at St. Joseph’s in 1958.
Sister Connelly talked about how many changes she’s seen in her career. She said she and other nurses used to boil needles to sterilize them in-between shots. Nowadays, those needles are thrown away.
The two women are a part of a legacy of leadership in the Hilltop neighborhood hospital. The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia helped build St. Joseph Hospital in Tacoma in the late 19th century.
“I think 125 years is quite an accomplishment,” she said.
The hospital is about to celebrate its 125th anniversary this October.
