SISTER MARY ROCH ROCKLAGE in First Person: Selections from the Oral History Interview

What would be the best way to educate nurses? How did Vatican II affect Catholic hospitals? What are characteristics of a good board chair? Sister Mary Roch Rocklage, a professed member of the Sisters of Mercy who has spent her entire career working in the health care ministry, addresses these and other questions in this selection of highlights from an oral history interview conducted in 2011.

Initially trained as a nurse, Sister Roch went on to earn a master’s degree in health services administration. Her leadership career has included a decade as the President of St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, after which she was elected to the leadership of the Sisters of Mercy, St. Louis Province. In the mid-80s, she became the first President/CEO of the newly-formed Sisters of Mercy Health System. Later, she became Chair of the Sponsor Counsel of the Sisters of Mercy Health System and then became Health Ministry Liaison. Sister Roch has served as Board Chair of the Catholic Healthcare Association and also of the American Hospital Association.

The edited transcript of the entire oral history is available at no charge on the Center website at http://www.aha.org/research/rc/chhah/oral-histories.shtml.