"It's a difficult time for health care," said Dr. Donald Berwick, in a keynote address to the Catholic Health Assembly here.

The nation's health care providers are battling over what it means to lower the costs of patient care without harming a soul, said Dr. Atul Gawande, keynote speaker at the Catholic Health Assembly here.

Health reform presents the opportunity for Catholic health care to advance its mission of healing, CHA President and Chief Executive Officer Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, told the audience at the 2011 Catholic Health Assembly here.

When ministry members came together at the first CHA Global Health Summit last month, the power of partnerships and collaborations was a recurring lesson.

Leadership formation is a dynamic, creative, collaborative process and one that is more important than ever because laypeople are in senior decision-making rolls at all levels of the health ministry.

CHA member delegates gathered at the annual Membership Assembly here voted to approve an amendment to the association's bylaws, passed a three-year dues resolution and elected a slate of new board members. The membership assembly took place during the Catholic Health Assembly.

Words cannot express how honored I am to serve as the 2011-2012 chairperson of the Catholic Health Association. I can only hope and pray that I can serve each of you, and the entire ministry, well and in a manner consistent with the extraordinary expression of compassionate care it represents.

When I assumed the role of chairperson of the CHA board a year ago, I was excited about the prospect of having a larger role in influencing the future of the Catholic health ministry in the United States, and also about the many opportunities I would have to work more closely with my colleagues across the country as well as with the exceptional staff of CHA.

Resurrection Health Care in Chicago was facing a $100 million operating loss, a growing Medicaid population and a declining market share in late 2008 when Sandra Bruce started her new job as president and chief executive.

Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives is running a "thought experiment," said Michael Rowan, CHI executive vice president and chief operating officer, to figure out how to "take a board away from finance committee metrics" and move it into a governance structure with a purview that reaches beyond acute care considerations.

Peter R. Orszag, one of the chief strategists behind the Obama administration's health reform initiative, told a group of Catholic health care leaders meeting here that the U.S. will remain mired in legislative gridlock for a long time.

Two CHA staff members, both of whom have worked closely with the Senate Finance Committee and the Internal Revenue Service as new requirements for tax-exempt hospitals were developed, are urging hospitals to strive to comply with the spirit and letter of the law while awaiting further guidance from the IRS and CHA

Health care reform legislation being rolled out over the next few years envisions a health care system that is seamless and efficient for patients — one in which hospitals, physicians and other service providers work together to improve care, enhance population health and slow spending.

The reshaping of governance at Exempla Healthcare in Denver made for trying times. There were court actions, public protests and rebellious board members — even a hostile bill in the state legislature.

Health care has changed during Sr. Mary Patricia Barrett's years of service, as has the size and structure of Sisters of Charity Health System. But Sr. Barrett's commitment to Catholic values has never wavered.

To the best of Sr. Generose Gervais' memory, she never stepped foot inside a hospital until her first day of work at one. Her sister was a neurosurgical nurse and, quite honestly, she found medicine terrifying.

With this year's assembly focused on the opportunities ahead for Catholic health care, it was only fitting that the association take time at the gathering to honor ministry leaders likely to be at the forefront in this period of change.

Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Wash., has completed a $460 million, 12-story patient tower that administrators said will help to relieve capacity concerns.

For people who are unemployed over a long term, finding a job is rarely their sole concern. Many also face painful emotions, difficult spiritual questions, unrelenting financial challenges.