Pernet Family Health Service, Inc. is committed to supporting families to be physically, socially, psychologically, and spiritually whole. Incorporated in 1968, Pernet Family Health Service is a neighborhood-based home health and social service agency serving poor families in the Worcester area.

Rooted in the tradition of the Little Sisters of the Assumption and based on the belief in the dignity and worth of individuals, Pernet applies a holistic approach to providing home-based nursing services, comprehensive social services, and family life education. Pernet aims, through its continued service and programs to provide long-term strengthening and enhancement of family life.

The Little Sisters of the Assumption were founded by Father Stephen Pernet in 1865 as a religious order in Paris. Their purpose was to help families who suffered from the social and cultural upheavals of the Industrial Revolution. Faced with inadequate housing, insufficient health care, and little or no legal protection, families had begun to break apart. Father Pernet saw that the only way to develop the strengths of the families was by going into their homes and responding to their many needs.

Recognizing similar needs in the United States, the Little Sisters began their work in New York City in 1891 on the Lower East Side, moving to their current mission site in East Harlem in 1958. In 1955 the Little Sisters expanded their mission to Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1968 Pernet Family Health Service was established as a non-profit organization committed to carrying on the original spirit of the Little Sisters. The mission statement reflects the long tradition of the Little Sisters of the Assumption as well as the current needs of the Worcester community

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