Portiuncula University Hospital is celebrating 80 years of providing healthcare for the people of Ballinasloe and beyond this year.
As part of this celebration, the hospital will be holding a special mass on Thursday, April 20 at the Gullanes Hotel in Ballinasloe.
“We are delighted to be celebrating this momentous milestone,” said James Keane, Hospital Manager.
”Portiuncula University Hospital has been an integral part of the local community and has served multiple generations of families right across the county and surrounding areas.”
The mass is being held to celebrate the foundation of the hospital, and the contributions of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood (FMDM), along with all staff past and present, who have served the community there.
“We would like to extend a special invitation to all of our staff, past and present, our patients, and anyone who has been a part of this journey, to come and celebrate with us, 80 years of Portiuncula University Hospital.”
Due to limited space at the venue, please confirm attendance by contacting PUH80@hse.ie by 5pm on Monday, April 17.
Portiuncula Hospital
Portiuncula University Hospital is a Model 3 hospital in the Saolta Group, providing acute surgery, acute medicine and critical care along with Emergency Department and maternity services.
The Ballinasloe hospital serves a catchment area covering east Galway, Roscommon, Offaly, North Tipperary, and Westmeath.
The first foundation stone for Portiuncula was laid in October of 1943 by the Franciscan Missionaries, who had opened a nursing home at Mount Pleasant earlier that year.
The sisters were invited to found a hospital by Bishop Dignan, who gifted them a plot of land at Brackernagh.
Portiuncula Hospital, which took its name from the birthplace of the Franciscan movement in central Italy, first opened to patients in February 1945, and has expanded on many occasions since then.
The latest upgrade coming to the hospital is a new 50 bed ward block, which is currently under construction.
When completed the hospital extension will deliver a two-storey, 4,038sqm ward building with 50 beds, and a link corridor to the existing hospital.
