[2] She was born Bridget Della Mary Gavin on 1 January 1889 to Barbara Neary and her husband, who lived on a small parcel of farmland called Gavin's Field in Shanvalley, Burren, County Mayo, Ireland, then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

[citation needed] When she recovered, she was assigned by her religious congregation to work in the admissions office of St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio.

When she was transferred to her congregation's St. Vincent Charity Hospital in Cleveland, she refused to compromise on the inclusion of a coffee bar for the ward she was setting up for alcoholics in that institution, Rosary Hall Solarium.

In March 1961, Gavin received a personal letter from President John F. Kennedy, recognizing her service,[6] which she accepted, not for herself, but in the name of her religious congregation and profession.

The March 10, 2008 edition of Modern Healthcare magazine reported that Gavin had been honored as a 2008 inductee into their "Health Care Hall of Fame".

Christ-like charity and intelligent care are needed so that with God's grace he or she may be given the opportunity to accept a new philosophy of life.