St. Mary’s Health Care System is a not-for-profit Catholic health care provider whose mission is to be a compassionate healing presence in the communities we serve. Founded in 1906 and sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, St. Mary’s Health Care System is built on a foundation of values that include excellence, compassion, integrity and reverence for each person. St. Mary’s focuses on neurosciences, cardiac care, orthopedics, general medicine/general surgery, women’s and children’s health, and gastroenterology. The system includes 196-bed St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens and 25-bed St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital in Greene County. Services include emergency care, intensive care, home health care/hospice services, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, assisted living, Alzheimer’s/dementia care, preventive care, state-of-the art diagnostic and therapeutic care and a growing network of physician practices. Named Georgia’s Hospital of the Year in 2006 and 2010, St. Mary’s is proud to be the official health care provider for the University of Georgia Athletic Association. St. Mary’s has earned the Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval for advanced primary stroke care, advanced inpatient diabetes, heart failure care, knee replacement surgery and spine surgery.