Mercy Sister Sheila (Mary Carmeletta) Lyne, 83, died March 10.

Born on the South Side of Chicago, she attended Little Flower School and Mercy High School. After graduating from high school, she joined the Sisters of Mercy in 1953 and wanted to become a nurse.

She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing at Saint Xavier University and ministered at hospitals in Aurora, Illinois, and in Iowa.

In 1971, she began a long career in administration at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, first as an administrator and then twice as CEO. During her time as CEO, she earned a master’s degree in business from the University of Chicago.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Sister Sheila as commissioner for the Chicago Department of Public Health, a position she held from 1990 to 2001. Sister Sheila was the first woman and the first non-physician to serve in that role. She gained national attention for creating comprehensive women’s health programs, including a plan for domestic violence and improving prenatal care.

Concerned about the number of individuals affected by AIDS, she increased funding from $4 million to $40 million and implemented many programs to help the people of Chicago.

Mercy Hospital was in a dire financial situation in 2000 when Sister Sheila decided to return to the hospital as CEO. “There were those who urged us to move so we’d get away from poor people. But we’re not running from the poor. What would Catherine McAuley think of us if we did?” Sister Sheila is reported to have said.

Instead, Sister Sheila recovered old insurance claims, reached out to former donors and added facilities. A state-of-the-art MRI Center, a Heart and Vascular Care Center and the Comprehensive Breast Care Center, named after Sister Sheila Lyne, are three of the programs she initiated.

Sister Sheila negotiated the movement of Mercy Hospital to Trinity Health System in 2012, months before her retirement.