Getting control of the mounting federal debt is critical to the economic well-being of Americans and the security of the nation, Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., told the audience of ministry advocates and government relations specialists gathered at CHA's Catholic Legislative Advocacy Conference here.

Just as grassroots advocacy was important in the campaign to win passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it is proving equally crucial to educating the public about the merits of the law.

Most teachers get it. A student who has missed class to receive mental health care needs extra time and help to catch up.

Recent graduate Brittany McBee was scheduled to start a full-time nursing job in the emergency room at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., on Monday, May 23. But circumstance — in the form of an EF-5 tornado that destroyed the hospital and a quarter of the town — swept her into the thick of things a day ahead of schedule.

As Catholic acute care providers continue to anticipate and prepare for the implementation of health reform and the aging of the U.S. population, they should turn to long-term care providers for insights, since long-term care providers have critical expertise to share when it comes to meeting the needs of older people.

Trinity Health of Novi, Mich., and Mercy Health System of Chicago have signed a letter of intent for the Chicago system's Mercy Hospital & Medical Center to join Trinity. The systems could complete the affiliation by spring.

With the last American soldiers set to leave Iraq by year's end and a timetable in place for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan by 2014, the White House has announced a series of initiatives to increase employment prospects for returning soldiers.

Many ministry facilities are identifying obesity as a top public health priority and developing programs that resonate in their communities to address it.