30 years of assisting the Sisters of St John of God
This year marks 30 years since Sandy Busio joined the Sisters of St John of God in a role that has evolved over time to become all-encompassing and given her a firsthand view of the changes to our hospitals, services and organisation.
22 Jul 2022
Sandy is the Regional Executive Officer and Company Secretary to the Sisters of St John of God in Australia, a role that has evolved from her first appointment with the Sisters in 1992 as an executive assistant.
“When I first started, the St John of God Health Care System, as it was then known, had been in existence as an entity for less than three years and the Sisters’ involvement with the organisation’s hospitals and services was still very strong,” she said.
“The Trustees were the Sisters appointed to the Province Leadership Team as well as two additional Sisters appointed directly. Additionally, only Sisters were appointed to Director of Mission roles.”
That following decade was incredibly busy as the Sisters pushed forward with their planning to ensure their Ministry would continue into the future.
In 1994 the Sisters established the St John of God Foundation, which many years later was transferred to St John of God Health Care.
Then in 2000 we welcomed the first two lay Trustees to the organisation, and the Trustees were tasked with identifying options to ensure that St John of God Health Care continued to thrive when the Sisters themselves were no longer able to be directly involved.
This resulted in the establishment in 2004 of St John of God Australia Ltd, a civil and canon law entity established at the request of the Sisters, to assume responsibility for St John of God Health Care Inc.
In 2010 Sandy’s role was split to enable her to focus solely on supporting the Sisters of St John of God while another caregiver was appointed to support the work of the Trustees.
While this has meant that while Sandy’s work and focus has taken her further away from St John of God Health Care it has allowed her to deepen her relationships with the Sisters which has become particularly important as the Sisters age, become frailer and pass away.
“When I first started there were close to 300 Sisters scattered across Australia, now there are less than 60, with the majority located in Perth. We have seen the diminishment of branch houses with many of the Sisters coming back to the mother house here in Subiaco,” Sandy said.
“Although in many ways this is a time of loss for the Sisters it is amazing to see their acceptance of change to a life that is enormously different for them nowadays.
“I feel a sense of responsibility towards these wonderful women, who have been so supportive of me over the years. I want to continue to support them and assist them to achieve their ongoing goals.”
Sandy said the Sisters’ achievements over the time she has worked with them have been incredible and showed their strength and resilience.
“The Sisters foresight and lack of fear has been extraordinary,” she said.
“Their commitment to trust in God, in each other and in human nature has enabled them to achieve so many things that have lasting impacts.”
One such lasting legacy is the Sister Bridget Clancy Scholarship for the Empowerment of Women through Education sponsored by the Sisters of St John of God, which has enabled 36 St John of God Health Care caregivers to undertake study to extend their careers.
The scholarship was provided by the Sisters in celebration of their 150 years since foundation, and is named after Sister Bridget Clancy to recognise her critical role as one of the founding Sisters.
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