Brian Smith, 64, CHA's vice president of sponsorship and mission services, died unexpectedly on Tuesday, Nov. 8, having fallen while on an afternoon walk near his apartment in suburban St. Louis. He was an influential thought leader in the Catholic health ministry and particularly dedicated to recruiting and mentoring the next generation of mission leaders for Catholic health care providers in the United States.
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By LISA EISENHAUER
The Work2BeWell posts on Instagram were what caught the attention of 17-year-old Melisa Shafiee. "They have a very colorful, vibrant social media account full of posts encouraging people to take care of themselves as well as do a bunch of other mental health practices," says Shafiee, a senior at Bellevue High School near Seattle.
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By LISA EISENHAUER
Even though the latest transformation within the Sisters of Charity Health System was driven by finances and evolving trends in health care delivery, executives involved said the shift aligns with how the system and its founding congregation have innovated to meet the changing needs of the Cleveland neighborhoods they have long served.
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By PATRICIA CORRIGAN
On a recent Tuesday, nurse practitioner Rachael Doll conducted a hospital follow-up exam on a 6-month-old, tested a 65-year-old for hypertension, performed a hearing evaluation and vaccinated several students. Doll works in a primary care clinic located inside
Sayler Park School, one of six school-based health centers in Cincinnati operated by Mercy Health, part of Bon Secours Mercy Health.
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By JULIE MINDA
Even for people born and raised in the U.S., the fragmented health care and social service systems can be very difficult to access and navigate. Refugees and immigrants of little means can have the added obstacles of limited English language proficiency and cultural, social and financial barriers when they are sick or struggling to meet their family's basic needs.
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By LISA EISENHAUER
As Catholic organizations continue to be deeply involved in the global effort to provide relief to people sheltering within Ukraine and refugees from that war-battered nation, some leaders of the effort are trying to help address specific needs that stand out amid the flow of humanitarian aid.
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By JULIE MINDA
As congregations sponsoring eldercare facilities lay plans to ensure their ministries will flourish with or without them, they must devise customized strategies to reflect their circumstances and goals.
Two eldercare ministries shared with Catholic Health World how they've proceeded.
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Several hospitals across the ministry celebrated the Oct. 4 Feast of St. Francis of Assisi by hosting blessings for pets events in early October. St. Francis is considered the patron saint of animals because of his love of all creatures.
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By JULIE MINDA
When
Providence Health & Services and St. Joseph Health merged in 2016 to form Providence St. Joseph Health, the sponsors decided that instead of suppressing one of the two public juridic persons they brought together they'd enter into a covenant to form a new sponsor council with five representatives from each legacy PJP.
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By PATRICIA CORRIGAN
The Hospital Transition Program, a collaboration between WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital and Catholic Charities West Virginia, both in Wheeling, provides individualized support to vulnerable, low-income patients after their hospital discharge.
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By JULIE MINDA
For the several years that he's been senior vice president of mission integration for CommonSpirit Health's Midwest division, Andrew Santos and the mission leaders he directs have grappled with how best to engage nearly 13,000 employees at 28 hospitals and hundreds of clinics across four states in formation and spirituality work.
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By JULIE MINDA
Leaders in ministry continuing care facilities long have expressed concern about the lack of defined standards for spiritual care delivery in their sector.
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By LISA EISENHAUER
Hospital Sisters Health System this year expanded to all of its nine hospitals in Illinois a federally funded and state-administered program to ease the path to treatment and potential recovery for patients who show signs of substance use disorder.
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Bishop David J. Bonnar of the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, blesses the COVID-19 memorial at Mercy Health — St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital at its dedication Sept. 8. In addition to the bronze sculpture designed by Timothy Schmalz, the memorial includes a time capsule to be opened in 2120 — 100 years from the start of the pandemic.
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