Born: 31 March 1942, Australia
Died: NA
Country most active: Australia
Also known as: NA
The following is republished with permission from the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.
Over the past 50 years, Sister Helen Monkivitch has made an exceptional contribution to health and aged-care services throughout Victoria.
In 1988, Sister Helen was appointed as the first female President of the Australian College of Health Service Executives. In 1995, she was one of the founding members of the Caroline Chisholm Centre for Health Ethics, which remains in operation today.
In 1997, Sister Helen was instrumental in the creation of Mercy Health. Her vision was to bring together the various health and aged care ministries of the Sisters of Mercy under one governing structure to ensure their long-term sustainability. Today, Mercy Health is a highly regarded provider of public health, residential aged care and community-care services across Victoria, southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Sister Helen continues to provide her exceptional knowledge and service in her current role as Executive Director Leadership and Mission, Mercy Health.
Sister Helen was an inaugural board member and a key driver in the establishment of Catholic Health Australia. This organisation is now arguably Australia’s foremost advocacy voice focused on better health and aged-care outcomes, particularly for marginalised and disadvantaged people.
In 2006, she was awarded an Officer of the General Division of the Order of Australia in recognition for her service to the community, through the establishment of major health, aged and palliative-care facilities in Victoria, and to the Catholic Church. In 2010, Sister Helen shared her wealth of knowledge and expertise in hospital administration to assist with the establishment of the medical, nursing and administrative structure of a new 100-bed Mother of Mercy Hospital in Tacloban City, Philippines.
This biography has been shared from The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, published by the Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology, under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
1965
Career position – Religious Sister at Mercy Private Hospital, Victoria
1968 – 1971
Career position – Staff Sister at Mercy Private Hospital, Victoria
1971 – 1974
Career position – Charge Sister at Mercy Maternity Hospital, Victoria
1975 – 1976
Career position – Supervisor at Mercy Maternity Hospital, Victoria
1976 – 1981
Career position – Deputy Director of Nursing at Mercy Maternity Hospital, Victoria
1982
Career position – Administrative Officer-General at Prince Henry’s Hospital in Melbourne
1988 – 1995
Career position – Sister Administrator at the Mercy Hospital for Women, Victoria
1995 –
Career position – Director of Mercy Health and Aged Care Inc., Victoria