Three years ago, Jim Fisher was facing a variety of health challenges. He was overweight, had high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, and suffered from anxiety and depression.

The Vatican has approved a petition that allowed St. Louis-based Ascension Health to transition to a public juridic person sponsorship model. A newly formed PJP called Ascension Health Ministries became the health system's sole sponsor June 30.

Childhood obesity is a problem nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased more than threefold in three decades.

For leaders of Via Christi Health of Wichita, Kan., the opening of a new hospital has provided a rare gift: a blank slate on which they can map out new ideas — and determine whether the ideas work and could benefit other facilities in the system.

What happens when hospital staffers disagree among themselves on the medical treatment of a patient? Suppose family members believe the hospital made a mistake while caring for their loved one. What if a mistake was made?

The Nebraska Heart Institute and Nebraska Heart Hospital joined Catholic Health Initiatives July 29.

Two Catholic health care providers were among the seven organizations the American Hospital Association honored this year for expanding the reach of palliative and end-of-life care.

Health care professionals are accustomed to measuring and refining their skills throughout their careers. According to leading health care ministry ethicists, the expectation for ongoing skills assessment and improvement extends equally to the practice of ethics because carrying out the healing mission of Jesus is fundamentally an ethical endeavor.

CHA has partnered with four national organizations in a "call to action" aimed at eliminating health care disparities.

It has been two decades since the Joint Commission called upon health care providers to determine how they could best anticipate the ethical concerns that can arise at an organizational level.