So Much in our Healthcare System we Owe to Nuns!

Between bathrooms and gorillas, thankfully, other news was happening last month that may just make the history books.  One of those less talked about events was that the Supreme Court of the United States made a unanimous decision in favor of the Little Sisters of the Poor. https://churchpop.com/2016/06/06/5-facts-nuns-healthcare/

The fact that a group of nuns went all the way to the Supreme Court of the U.S. over an issue involving health care is extremely interesting to me. As a graduate student pursuing a Master’s in History, I specifically researched Catholic Nuns and their influence on healthcare and nursing education. I learned that so much in our healthcare system we owe to nuns!

Here are the facts I found most impressive: Nuns in 19th century America often made decisions in business without ever consulting a man. In a culture and country where most women followed the orders of a father or husband, these women were planning, building and even providing employment without the lead of a man. AND THERE IS MORE!

In the nineteenth century, more than a third of American hospitals were established and run by women with religious vocations. In Say Little, Do Much, Sioban Nelson casts light on the work of these women’s religious communities.