It is with great pleasure that the Sisters of Notre Dame (SND) and the St. Charles Community (St. Charles) share with you that they have reached a preliminary agreement for an expansion of the St. Charles’ ministry to take place on the Dixie Highway campus of the SND (St. Joseph Heights), which has been home to the SNDs since 1926.
Nichole Smith, Executive Director of the St. Charles Community, comments on this opportunity by saying, “Since our founding by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1961, the St. Charles Community has been a leader in senior care in Northern Kentucky. Our mission calls us to care for the whole person – body, mind, and spirit – with professional competency, respect, and deep devotion to the healing ministry of Jesus. We believe that this expansion will enable us to reach more seniors in desperate need of compassionate care and services, while honoring and preserving the legacy of the Sisters of Notre Dame in this region.”
In 2023 and 2024, most of the sisters who were living at St. Joseph Heights transitioned to living on the St. Charles’ campus. Ms. Smith further commented, “Welcoming the sisters to our St. Charles Community has been a blessing.”
Regarding the future, Sr. Shauna, Provincial Councilor for SND, has shared, “It is very affirming to the sisters to see the potential for St. Joseph Heights to continue serving the SND mission through an expansion of St Charles’ own mission and ministry on the campus. And since many in-depth studies have shown that a re-purposing of the existing building is not feasible, the SND will be taking it down this summer – this as the next step in St. Joseph Heights’ further service to mission.”
Ms Smith added, “After a year of prayer, study and meetings, we are committed to entering the next part of the study. We envision a phased development, and we have engaged professionals to assist us in determining how St. Charles can best serve the local community through this expansion and long into in the future.”
Sr. Shauna concluded with, “In making decisions about the future, our goal is to maximize our mission-related impact and to continue to strengthen our existing ministries. We believe that transitioning the St. Joseph Heights property to St. Charles will provide significant benefits to both the Sisters and St. Charles, and to the broader Covington / Park Hills communities.”
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Margie Schnelle, by email at [email protected] or phone 859-392-8229.
Thank you,
Sr. Mary Shauna Bankemper, SND
Provincial Assistant, SNDUSA