It was her mother’s struggle with Type II diabetes that helped inspire Dr. Patricia A. Maryland’s aspirations in the health care field.

There were too many visits to the hospital, and too little was known about the disease – a fairly telling precursor to what health care systems face today.

Maryland, 54, was appointed the new president and CEO of St. John Health by Ascension Health last month. She takes over for Elliot Joseph, who has been named senior executive with Ascension Health.

Consistent with its mission to serve all people with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable, Ascension Health is an innovative leader in transforming health care through patient-centered, holistic care of the highest clinical quality, and provided $703.9 million in care of persons who are poor and community benefit last year.

Ascension Health is the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system, with more than 100,000 associates serving in 20 states and the District of Columbia.

A Ministry Market Leader who oversees strategies and operations of Ascension’s five Michigan health systems, Maryland said that she is, “honored to accept the position. Since my return to Michigan, I have been very impressed with the dedication of the team at St. John Health.”

Her grounding as a professional was honed in a large family — she is one of eight children — under the guidance of USAF Sgt. Willy Maryland and her mother, Janine, a homemaker.

The couple stressed the importance of education.

Her father holds two master’s degrees and took courses toward a Ph.D, she noted, and worked as a senior archivist for State of Alabama when he retired from the military.

Her family’s history bears out that upbringing. Dr. Maryland’s siblings work in fields as varied as education, science and medicine.

During her high school years, Dr. Maryland worked as a candy striper for the Air Force base in Templehof, Germany, the Indianapolis Woman magazine reported.

Her parents sent her to live with her brother in Alabama following her high school graduation, and her stellar SAT scores helped seal her professional fate.

Maryland’s brother, head of the math department at Alabama State University, said she had to follow his lead based on the scores.

“If you have a strong mathematical and scientific background, you can pretty much do anything,” Maryland told Indianapolis Woman magazine.

“I figured if I changed my mind later, that at least I would have a strong foundation to work from.”

She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Applied Mathematics from Alabama State University, a Masters of Arts degree in Biostatistics from the University of California and a Doctorate of Public Health Services and Planning from the University of Pittsburgh.

The education — both institutional and familial — sowed the seeds for her longstanding career in the health care industry.

Though her most recent title is with Ascension, Maryland has many prior Michigan ties.

She is the former DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital president and senior vice president of the Detroit Medical Center, a position she left in 2003, and also worked at North Oakland Medical Centers in Pontiac as executive vice president and COO.

Much of Maryland’s work has also been in urban areas. Before joining Ascension Health, she served as executive vice president and COO of St. Vincent Health and president of St. Vincent Hospital and Health Services in Indianapolis. She has worked as a strategic planner in Pittsburgh and enjoyed a 15-year career at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

That background has given Maryland a unique insight into the great challenges facing urban health systems, as well as passion for serving the underserved.

She has already pledged her commitment to St. John Health’s continued service to Detroit, particularly the city’s east side.

St. John Health is the largest provider of inpatient care in Southeast Michigan and the second largest for Detroiters. Besides operating Riverview Center — which provides 24-hour emergency services, has 50 doctors, a lab, pharmacy and x-ray services — St. John Health has invested more than $14 million to provide medical, counseling and social services to Detroit school children.

Beyond her day-to-day duties, Maryland had the chance to hear the nation’s health care views when she spent six months as chair of the Citizens Health Care Working Group, a national commission Congress created to hear the public’s concerns about reforming health care.

After hearing from more than 40,000 people in 32 states, the group made its recommendation:

All Americans should have access to affordable, quality health care.

To that end, Maryland was recently appointed by the U.S. General Accounting Office to a panel that will find ways to reduce the number of uninsured and work on improving access to health care.

Addressing those concerns — as well as making sure that St. John Health is led so that its doctors can live out their passion for healing by serving Southeast Michigan well — will be Patricia Maryland’s core mission.