Daughters of Charity National Health System

Ascension

Type	Nonprofit
Industry	Healthcare
Founded	1999
Headquarters	Edmundson, Missouri, USA
Area served	United States
Key people	Anthony R. Tersigni, EdD, FACHE, President and CEO
Services	Hospital management
Number of employees	150,000 (2015)
Divisions	Services, Solutions
Website	http://www.ascension.org/

Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. It is the largest non-profit health system in the United States and the world's largest Catholic health system. Ascension is committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. Its headquarters are in Edmundson, Missouri, part of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area.

In FY2016, Ascension provided more than $1.8 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Ascension includes approximately 150,000 associates and 36,000 aligned providers. Ascension’s Healthcare Division operates 2,500 sites of care – including 141 hospitals and more than 30 senior living facilities – in 24 states and the District of Columbia, while its Solutions Division provides a variety of services and solutions including physician practice management, venture capital investing, investment management, biomedical engineering, facilities management, clinical care management, information services, risk management, and contracting through Ascension’s own group purchasing organization.

Ascension was formed in 1999, when the four provinces of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul that were sponsors of the Daughters of Charity National Health System (now combined into one – the Province of St. Louise), and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth (now part of the Congregation of St. Joseph), brought their health systems together. In 2002, the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet became the sixth sponsor when its health system became part of Ascension Health.

In September 2011, Ascension transitioned to a non-congregational Public Juridic Person (PJP) sole sponsorship model. The PJP is known as Ascension Sponsor and is authorized to carry out a ministry or apostolate in the name of the Catholic Church.

Ascension was created on November 1, 1999, by the union of the Daughters of Charity National Health System that was based in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Sisters of St. Joseph Health System that was based in Nazareth, Michigan. In December 2002, Carondelet Health System, which was based in St. Louis, Missouri, merged with Ascension . In 2012, Alexian Brothers Health System joined Ascension. In 2013, Marian Health System joined Ascension.In October 2017, Ascension deposited $23 million in to the Lewis - Clark Valley Healthcare Foundation.