Mary Healy (Mother Gertrude)

Healy then trained as a nurse, initially working at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, where she was appointed Mother Rectress in 1910.[4] The hospital grew significantly during the ten years that Healy was in charge, increasing its number of specialties, building new nursing accommodation, improving a range of out-patient facilities and services, and completing a new story in 1918. During the influenza epidemic of 1919, St Vincent's Hospital admitted over 27,000 urgent cases and treated another 70,000 as outpatients. However, Healy's goal of the hospital becoming a clinical school of the University of Sydney, was ultimately achieved by her successor Anne Daly (also known as Mother Mary Berchmans).[1]

After her term at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital concluded in 1920, Healy was in charge of the Sisters of Charity's adjoining private hospital in Darlinghurst for four years. In 1924, she moved interstate and became the rectress of Melbourne's St Vincent's Hospital.[5] Under her administration this hospital also greatly expanded. Building works paid for by successful fund-raising efforts and a network of auxiliaries supporting the hospital, provided employment to Melburnians during the depression.[6] Healy was responsible for introducing specialist training for dietitians and professional social work to the hospital, hiring the highly-qualified social worker Norma Parker as an almoner to undertake a role previously only performed by religious sisters.

Between April and December 1932, Healy travelled to Europe with her superior-general Mother Canice Bruton (née Mary Catherine Bruton) to study the latest in hospital management and the design of modern hospitals.[7] The learnings from this trip influenced subsequent developments at both Melbourne and Sydney's St Vincent's Hospitals.[8] Healy returned to the latter as rectress in 1934, where she served a further nine years before moving to the same position at the much-expanded public hospital. Once again, she introduced a number of new professional specializations. Her plans for expansion into maternity and children's medicine was delayed by the Vatican's ban on religious sisters working in obstetrics, which was not removed until 1936. In 1947, Healy returned once again to her role managing the private hospital.[1]