The 993 nurses who work at its 5 Holy Cross hospitals and 45 clinics to be honored during Nurses Week, May 6-12 2025
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Sisters of Holy Cross arriving in Utah to provide care for miners who had nowhere to go and no way to pay for the care. Today their legacy has expanded across the Wasatch Front.
Not long after arriving, the Sisters opened a hospital in Salt Lake City, and in 1901, established a nursing school on its campus. Over the following 72 years, more than 1,000 nurses were trained there.
Compassion a Constant Among Change
“Nursing has changed dramatically over the past 150 years – as new tools and techniques have evolved. But certain things haven’t changed. The underlying values of compassion, commitment and ethical practice remain a bedrock of nursing today, just like it was when the sisters arrived in our community,” said Ryan McClellan, RN, chief nursing officer at Holy Cross Hospital – Salt Lake. “We hope the community will join us this next week in expressing appreciation to Utah’s outstanding nurses.”
“The Gallup organization conducts a survey every year to determine what professions the public most trusts. For the past 23 years, Nursing has been ranked the most trusted profession. I believe it’s because of the legacy of early nurses who set a standard of compassion that continues today.”
Graduate of Holy Cross Nursing School Shares Her Memories
Joni Averett, 86 of Murray, worked as a nurse for nearly 50 years, retiring at the age of 70, when a medical condition forced her to step away from the role she loved.
Joni attended the Holy Cross Nursing School, graduating in 1960. As a young girl, she had traveled from her hometown in Kemmerer, Wyo. to Salt Lake City when her cousin graduated from the nursing school. She remembers watching the nurses, dressed in their white uniforms, and carrying red roses, walk from the nursing school on South Temple and 10th East to the Cathedral of the Madeline, where the graduation ceremony was held. That was the moment when she knew she wanted to be a nurse.
Coming from a family without a lot of means, she wasn’t sure how she could afford nursing school. But then she applied for several grants, which ended up funding all but $50 of her tuition.
During her three years of nursing school she lived in the Moreau building where classes were held. She remembers that when any of the nurses had a date, the young man had to check in with the receptionist and wait for the nurse come down to the lobby to meet him.
After graduation she worked at the old St. Mark’s Hospital on Beck Street until it closed. She spent time in Pennsylvania and then worked in a rural hospital in Wyoming, where she had to take care of all kinds of patients. She was told that when a mother was in labor, not to call the doctor to come in for the delivery, until she could see the white’s of the baby’s eyes.
Joni eventually returned to Salt Lake City, where she worked at Holy Cross Hospital for 28 years. She helped start the IV Therapy service at the hospital and was one of the first nurses trained to manage PICC lines.
Joni witnessed a lot of changes in nursing during her five decades and jokes, “I quit nursing as soon as they started using computers.”
One of Joni’s former colleagues, Cloe Wilson, who is still a nurse at Holy Cross Hospital – Salt Lake, says, “Patients always loved Joni–she knew how to put them at ease. She loved them.”
Nursing Today
By contrast, Ryan got his nursing education at Salt Lake Community College, and later a bachelor’s degree (BSN) at the University of Phoenix. While many of the first nursing schools across the country were started by hospitals – including at least three in Utah – by the 1970s, nursing training began transitioning to colleges.
As Ryan started college, his goal was to become a pediatrician. But as he talked to a number of physicians, he decided that nursing was probably a better fit. After getting his RN license, his first job was caring for prisoners at the State Penitentiary. Later he began working in hospitals, and eventually moved to a leadership role.
He has enjoyed his career in nursing saying that nurses are often able to look at patients in a more holistic way, considering their psychological needs as well as their medical needs.
One of the biggest changes Ryan has seen in nursing over his 27 years is the expanded influence nurses have over how care is delivered. “Nurses are at the core of everything. Nobody is better positioned than a nurse to change what health care looks like tomorrow,” Ryan said.
Speaking recently at the graduation ceremony for a local nursing school, Ryan told the group of nursing students, “You are uniquely trained, individually qualified, and perfectly positioned to make a significant impact in the lives of the people you serve, in healthcare generally, and in the world globally.”
About CommonSpirit Health
Inspired by faith. Driven by innovation. Powered by humankindness. CommonSpirit Health is building a healthier future for all through its integrated health services. As one of the nation’s largest nonprofit Catholic healthcare organizations, CommonSpirit Health delivers more than 20 million patient encounters annually through more than 2,300 clinics, care sites and 137 hospital-based locations, in addition to its home-based services and virtual care offerings. CommonSpirit has more than 157,000 employees, 45,000 nurses and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice providers across 24 states and contributes more than $4.2 billion annually in charity care, community benefits and unreimbursed government programs. Together with our patients, physicians, partners, and communities, we are creating a more just, equitable, and innovative healthcare delivery system. Learn more at commonspirit.org.
