Press Releases

OMAHA, NE

• 11:00 a.m. - A mass at the chapel dedicated to her in 2006
  Our Lady of Hope Sr. Norita Cooney, RSM Chapel in the Bergan Mercy Medical Center
  
  
• 11:30 a.m. - A brunch in the Bergan Mercy Medical Center Dining Center

Sister Norita joined Bergan Mercy Health System as chief executive officer in 1986 after serving with the Archdiocese and the Sisters of Mercy in various positions. Ten years later, when Bergan Mercy and Immanuel Medical Center merged to create Alegent Health, she was appointed board chair.

From 2002-2006, Sister Norita served as the senior vice president of Mission Services and Community Affairs where she was responsible for mission integration, pastoral care, clinical pastoral education, the Ethics Center, Community Benefit Initiatives and the fundraising development officers. She returned to the Sisters of Mercy in 2006 as vice president of the Omaha Regional Community and in 2008 was elected president of the newly formed West Midwest Community of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.

“Sister Norita's contributions to the life and culture of Alegent Health are immeasurable and lasting,” said Rick Hachten, Alegent Health executive vice president. “From the very creation of Alegent Health, to the development of Alegent's Mission statement, to assuring that Alegent's values became interwoven with the culture, her presence with our organization remains alive and pervasive. We are blessed to have had such an extraordinary leader during Alegent's formative years.”

About Alegent Health
Alegent Health is the largest not-for-profit, faith-based healthcare system in Nebraska and southwestern Iowa with 10 hospitals, more than 100 sites of service, over 1,300 physicians on its medical staff and 9,000 employees. Alegent Health is ranked first in the country in quality and patient satisfaction according to the Network for Regional healthcare Improvement (NRHI). That exceptional commitment to providing patient focused care for the body, mind and spirit of every person keeps Alegent Health faithful to its Mission, which was inspired by its sponsors, Catholic Health Initiatives and Immanuel Health Systems. At Alegent Health, patients and their families find a continuum of care, from women's and children's services, primary care, wellness counseling, and senior care to cardiovascular services, orthopaedics, oncology, physical rehabilitation and behavioral health. Alegent Health is online at www.alegent.com.