Moving Forward, Looking Back

The healing hands and dedication of our staff began at Little Company of Mary in 1960 and will continue into a new future with Providence.

 
In 1956, the American Province of the Sisters of Little Company of Mary, located in Evergreen Park, Illinois, received an offer, all the way from California. They were asked to journey west and build a hospital in Torrance on a 10-acre site given to them by a corporate grant deed from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In 1960, the new 150-bed Little Company of Mary Hospital opened its doors.

 
Throughout the next 30 years, Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance continued to grow, adding additional wings, an education building, a medical office building and off-site facilities for diagnostics and skilled nursing.

“In 1989, the organization embarked on a 10-year journey to identify potential partners, strengthen its presence in the South Bay and Peninsula communities and ensure Catholic healthcare’s position for the future,” former Chief Executive Officer Blair Contratto said. “We began by affiliating with San Pedro Peninsula Hospital, then Bay Harbor Hospital, and by the end of the 1990s, Little Company of Mary Health Services had grown to more than 30 facilities. We were well on our way.”

Meanwhile, as Little Company of Mary grew, the Sisters of Little Company of Mary living in the South Bay began to retire. During a congregational meeting in Europe, the Sisters asked what they should do when the time came that there were no longer Sisters of Little Company of Mary in California. It was decided that Little Company of Mary should join together with another congregation of Sisters to continue their mission of providing health care in Los Angeles.

During the 1990s, the Sisters began an exhaustive search for a religious congregation with which to partner. After a few false starts, in 1999, they received a bit of “providence.”

The Sisters of Providence — sponsors of Providence Health System, a Washington-based health care organization with a remarkably similar history and mission — were searching to expand and strengthen their own health system by partnering with an organization with similar values and goals. With integrated health care and ancillary services throughout Washington, Montana, Oregon, Alaska and parts of California, Providence proved to be a natural fit for Little Company of Mary. So began a cosponsorship that would see tremendous growth and numerous changes for both organizations.   Continue »

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