Ethics

Catholic health care seeks to carry out the healing ministry of Jesus in a complex environment — a fragmented health care system, millions of Americans uninsured or underinsured, enormous competition, challenges in reimbursement, proliferating technologies, and numerous biomedical and scientific advances. These and other forces often generate difficult questions about how to live out our faith and value commitments in concrete situations. Reflecting on what we ought to do and who we ought to become, as individuals and as organizations, whether in the clinical, business, or social realms, is the work of ethics.

The theology and ethics function at the Catholic Health Association seeks to provide assistance to its members in navigating the many complex ethical realities in health care today. We do this through consultations, presentations, hosting dialogues and working groups, collaborating with our colleagues, developing and sharing resources, offering educational programs, and research and writing.