More than a century after the Sisters of the Holy Cross opened their first Salt Lake City hospital to care for Utah’s burgeoning mining community, they expanded their ministry by opening a second hospital - now known as Holy Cross Hospital - Jordan Valley - in the region’s fast-growing southwest suburbs. Here’s the story of how the remarkable Sister Joanne and a man named Paul Hinchey made that expansion a reality.
A chance shared cab ride in 1977 in Boston turned out to be a moment that shaped Utah’s healthcare landscape for the past five decades.
Paul P. Hinchey had just finished his Master’s of Healthcare Administration degree when he happened to share a cab with one of the leaders of the Sisters of the Holy Cross. He must have created quite an impression, because a few months later Sister Joanne Upjohn, CEO of Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake, called and asked him to come to Utah to interview for a vice president position. Paul, who was an East Coast man at heart, had no intention of taking a job across the country. But he agreed to the interview, thinking that it might at least give him a chance to ski.
Sister Joanne offered him a job on the spot, and before he knew it he was driving his Volkswagen Rabbit across the country to begin working at Holy Cross Hospital.
Paul describes Sister Joanne as a “force of nature.” She had left a wealthy pharmaceutical family to take a vow of poverty and serve the needy. Part of her vision was expanding clinics to less densely populated areas of the Salt Lake Valley. After a couple of years, Paul suggested that they consider building a hospital in the southwest region of the valley. Sister Joanne liked the idea, and before he knew it, she got it approved by the board. Paul was tapped as the new hospital’s administrator, and he took point on purchasing 40 acres of farm land in West Jordan.
He also spent most of the next couple of years in a construction trailer, overseeing the construction of Jordan Valley Hospital, hiring the staff, and recruiting physicians to practice at the 50-bed facility, which opened in 1983.
One of the key driving factors as the hospital was being planned was making sure it was designed for easy expansion – anticipating the healthcare needs of the fast-growing population in Salt Lake County. Paul said that being with the team from the beginning created a deep bond. They all knew each other and knew each other’s families.
Two of Paul’s four children were born at Holy Cross hospitals – one in Salt Lake and the other at Jordan Valley. While his time in Utah was short-lived (in 1985 he was transferred to a Holy Cross hospital in Washington, D.C.) he has incredible memories from his time in the Salt Lake area.
Paul vividly remembers a lesson Sister Joanne taught him during his interview in 1977. She pointed to a yardstick that was hanging in the board room, imprinted with the question: “What’s best for the patient?” She told him that was the standard against which all decisions should be measured. He never forgot that principle of leadership and has kept it as his moral compass during his 40-plus-year career in faith-based healthcare. He currently serves as CEO of Georgia-based St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System.
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