Mary Healy (Mother Gertrude)
Mary Healy (24 July 1865 – 28 April 1952), better known as Mother Gertrude, was a member of the Sisters of Charity of Australia and hospital administrator. She made significant contributions to the development of St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney and St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne. Early life Mary Healy was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1865 to ironmonger Francis Healy and his wife Annie (née Carton). Siblings included Rev Joseph Healy, S.J. and architect Denis Healy. After migrating to Australia with her family, Healy was educated at the Loreto Abbey, Mary's Mount, Ballarat. Here, she came under the influence of Mother Mary Gonzaga Barry and received some teacher training. On 5 June 1889, she entered the Novitiate of the Sisters of Charity and on her profession on 2 October 1891 took the name Sister Gertrude. Career Nursing career Healy then trained as a nurse, initially working at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, where she was appointed Mother Rectress in 1910. 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