Our History

Homer W. Bourgeois

In 1880, when the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa first established their order in Lowell, organized elder services were rare, if not non-existent. In 1956, witnessing the growth of the elderly population in Lowell, the General Council of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa requested that Provincial Superior Sr. Saint André Corsini and the order in Lowell address this need by providing a home to care for Lowell’s senior citizens. After much perseverance on the part of the Sisters, combined with the efforts of local businessmen Homer Bourgeois, John J. Hurley, and Paul Gagnon, D’Youville opened its doors in 1960.

D’Youville Manor, as it was known then, opened with 129 beds. It soon became apparent that the need in the community was much greater than anticipated, and another 67 beds were added. In the mid 1990s, a new 208-bed state-of-the-art facility was constructed to replace the original building. This physical expansion also came with a new name – D’Youville Senior Care, reflecting the additional expansion in scope and services. Finally, 2006 saw the opening of Bruyere Gardens, an affordable senior housing complex on the D’Youville campus.

Today, we celebrate our evolution into the D’Youville Life & Wellness Community. Our focus remains on providing seniors with superior, compassionate long and short-term care solutions in keeping with the mission of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa; yet, we continue to expand our services to meet their ever-changing and increasing needs.

D’Youville is Medicare/Medicaid certified and accredited by The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). D’Youville is sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa, a division of the Grey Nuns; however, we remain an independent not-for-profit corporation with 501(c)(3) status. We are governed by a volunteer community board with roots throughout the Greater Lowell community and expertise across a broad range of industries. D’Youville serves over 1,000 seniors annually, primarily from the Greater Lowell area.