Racial and ethnic disparities in the delivery of care is a sad fact of U.S. health care. The principles of Catholic social teaching, including the inherent dignity of each person; the common good; and concern for poor and vulnerable, provide a moral and ethical basis for the Catholic health care ministry. These values call us to refuse to accept the existence of racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes, access to care and receipt of quality health care in direct opposition to the mission of Catholic health care and the Catholic social tradition.

This video presentation featuring Ron Hamel, Ph.D., CHA senior director of ethics, highlights the theological and moral imperatives for righting health care disparities. It includes questions for reflection that can be used by boards, leadership teams and other groups to enter into dialog about challenges and opportunities for righting this wrong.

Available on DVD by ordering here on CHA’s Online Store, or on CHA’s YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8fkDlxfFfo&feature=youtu.be, we hope it will provide a venue to open discussions about this important issue.