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Dr. Robert Spangler Elected Board Chair of the Sisters of Chairty Health System


CLEVELAND – Robert T. Spangler, M.D., a general surgeon recently retired from Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohio, has been elected chairman of the board of directors of the Sisters of Charity Health System (SCHS), one of several leading Catholic health care systems in the country. Dr. Spangler has served on the board since 2011 and is a member of the public juridic person that provides oversight of the system’s Catholic identity.  Dr. Spangler succeeds Roger Mann, who served as board chair for the past three years.

Headquartered in Cleveland, SCHS is the parent corporation of four Catholic hospitals, three grantmaking foundations, six community-outreach organizations and two elder-care facilities

“We are grateful to have such an experienced and talented physician like Dr. Spangler as our new board chair. His strategic direction and vision for the role of our acute care hospitals, our foundations, outreach ministries, and elder care facilities in the future make him an ideal leader for the board as the health system continues building on our faith-based legacy of providing high-quality, compassionate care,” said Terrence Kessler, president and CEO of SCHS.

“We would also like to thank Roger Mann for his leadership of the system for the past three years”  said Kessler. “His leadership exemplifies his strong commitment to the mission and ministry of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine.”

Dr. Spangler joined the staff of Mercy Medical Center as a surgeon in 1978 and served as a solo practitioner in general surgery at Mercy Medical Center and as a clinical assistant professor of surgery at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). He received his medical degree from St. Louis University in 1972 and performed his general surgical residency at St. Louis University Group Hospitals from 1972 to 1977. Dr. Spangler is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and was elected to the Society of St. Luke in 2005, Mercy Medical Center’s physician honor society.

“After serving on the board of directors for these past few years, I am honored to be chosen as the board chair. I look forward to continuing to work with my fellow board members and health system leadership to ensure SCHS remains a beacon of hope as we address the unmet needs of individuals, families and communities by carrying forward the legacy of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine,” said Dr. Spangler.

About the Sisters of Charity Health System


The Sisters of Charity Health System was established in 1982 as the parent corporation for the sponsored ministries of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine in Ohio and South Carolina. The Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine is a congregation of women religious that, since founding in 1851, continues a faith-based legacy of high-quality, compassionate care in partnership with its co-ministers, who are the heart and hands of the ministry.

The Sisters of Charity Health System solely owns four Catholic hospitals: St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio; Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohio; and Providence Hospital and Providence Orthopedic Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina. The Sisters of Charity Health System also oversees three grantmaking foundations located in Cleveland, Ohio; Canton, Ohio; and Columbia, South Carolina. Each foundation sponsors significant community initiatives and collaborations that address causes and consequences of poverty. Outreach organizations within the Sisters of Charity Health System include Joseph’s Home, a unique residential care center for homeless men in Cleveland, Ohio; Early Childhood Resource Center for people working in childcare in all settings in Canton, Ohio; Healthy Learners, a health care resource for children from low-income families in South Carolina; and the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, a state-wide organization supporting initiatives to reengage fathers in the lives of their children. The Sisters of Charity Health System also provides residential elder care services at Regina Health Center in Richfield, Ohio, and Light of Hearts Villa in Bedford, Ohio. For more information, visit sistersofcharityhealth.org.


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