Current News
February 2012
If you have a media query, please email Fred Caesar, CHA's liaison to the media.
Items of Note:
"Something has to be fixed," a column in regards to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' rules for preventive services for women by Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, CHA president and chief executive officer.
01/20/12 CHA Disappointed with Decision Regarding Women's Preventive Services Regulations
Equity of Care
The Catholic Health Association and Health Reform
CHA has made available a series of four videos profiling people who have been helped by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The videos, which debuted at the Catholic Health Assembly in June, can be viewed at www.youtube.com/healthreformworks. Furthermore, CHA is working to ensure that regulations implementing the law respect the dignity of all people from conception to natural death and that health reform legislation will be broadened in the future to benefit immigrants and all those on the margins of society, states Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, the association's president and chief executive officer. For additional background, read CHA resource "Realizing Our Vision for U.S. Health Care" (.pdf) and the Sept. 13 news release, "50 Million Uninsured Shows Importance of Safety Net."
The Catholic Health Association and Conscience Protections
CHA has long supported language within appropriations legislation to prohibit federal funding of abortions (Hyde amendment) and language to protect hospitals and other institutional and individual health care providers should they decline to provide, pay for, or refer for abortions (Weldon amendment). The association believes that "continuing to retain these protections in current law represents good public policy." For additional information, see the CHA news release (Jan. 20) CHA Disappointed with Decision Regarding Women's Preventive Services Regulations as well as the February 15 Catholic Health World column by CHA president and chief executive officer, Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, "Something has to be fixed."
The Catholic Health Association Advocacy Communications
The Catholic Health Association is committed to work for a health care system that provides accessible and affordable health care for all. We have taken a leadership role on issues of particular importance to the Catholic health ministry, as outlined by members of the ministry working together with CHA's advocacy and public policy staff. Please use this link to view recent advocacy communications sent the U.S. Congress.
The Church, Social Justice and the Health Care Ministry
Understanding the link between Catholic ecclesiology and social teaching are fundamental to understanding the appropriate relationship between employees and management within Catholic health care, including questions pertaining to unionization. Read "A CHA White Paper: The Church, Social Justice and the Health Care Ministry" in the January-February 2012 issue of Health Progress.
Catholic Health Care and Community Benefits
Community benefits are programs and services designed to improve health in communities and increase access to health care. They are integral to the mission of Catholic and other not-for-profit health care organizations, and are the basis of tax exemption. For nearly 20 years, CHA has been a leader in the community benefit field, helping not-for-profit health care organizations fulfill their community benefit mission. To learn more visit the resource rich community benefit area of the CHA website. For additional background, review these articles from the May-June 2011 Health Progress, "Community Benefit — IRS Form 990, Schedule H: Address These Questions Up Front," "Community Benefit — IRS Form 990, Schedule H: A Deep Dive: Ready, Set, Go" and "Community Benefit — Beyond the IRS: How Does Your Public Report Stack Up?" Also read from the January-February 2012 issue of Health Progress the article "Assessing, Addressing Community Health Needs: Steeped in Catholic Identity and History."
Facts About the Catholic Health Ministry (Updated for 2012)
Did you know that the Catholic health ministry represents the largest not-for-profit provider of health care services in the nation? In fact, one in six people in the United States who are admitted to a hospital each year receive care in a Catholic acute care facility. For more information about the Catholic health ministry, please check out the updated Fast Facts section on this website and download for your ready reference the "Catholic Health Care in the United States" (January 2012) overview document (.pdf).
Facts About Anointing of the Sick: The How and Why
Canon lawyer Sr. Marlene Weisenbeck, FSPA, Ph.D., J.C.L., provides an accessible overview of a Catholic sacrament that is particularly relevant to Catholic health care. Her report in the September-October 2011 issue of Health Progress is useful to media, family members and patients alike.
To review timely news releases from Catholic health systems and facilities see CHA's News Release Digest.
To learn more about the association, please download an overview document describing the Catholic Health Association (.pdf).
If you want to receive more information about any of these initiatives or have a question, please complete the online request information form.
CHA has partnered with four national organizations in a "call to action" aimed at eliminating health care disparities. Additional information and resources about the Equity of Care initiative, promoting diversity and reducing health disparities is available at the Equity of Care website and on the CHA website. Also, read the August 15 Catholic Health World article, "CHA joins partners in calling for equal access to health care for all" and "Urban Health Care: Disparities Abound," by Susan C. Thomson, M.A., M.B.A., in the November-December 2011 issue of Health Progress.