hp_mast_wide
ERIN ARCHER, RN

What if we had a set of interventions that could reduce rates of depression, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heavy drinking and unemployment? They might already exist. Many clinical researchers argue that these tools are already being developed and used, and that some answers to these conditions lie in the prevention and treatment of trauma in our patients, workplaces and communities.

SARAH A. NEELEY, PhD, STEPHEN MURRAY, MPS, MTS, and ANDY NAVARRO, MHCM, JD
Striving for Spiritual Wholeness When Caring for Patients

As a Catholic health ministry, we are called to the sacred work of caring for those who are acutely sick, seriously injured or facing a significant life transition. These realities challenge, shape and potentially transform the spirituality of those receiving and providing care.

KELLY BILODEAU
Pain Management Takes New Forms to Curb Opioid Epidemic

When the patient arrived for her first palliative care appointment to address her chronic pain, she was hurting, angry and guarded, a mood that lingered through the first part of her session.

CHRISTINA GEBEL, MPH

The U.S. has a problem with maternal mortality, and it is not getting better. The trend has been even more alarming in recent years. According to CDC data, in 2021, the maternal mortality rate was 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, which was up from 23.8 in 2020 and 20.1 in 2019.

TREVOR BONAT, MA, MS
The Prime Meridian and the Resurrection: Charting a Path

I felt a profound sense of awe wash over me as I stood on the prime meridian at the Royal Observatory in the London borough of Greenwich while on a college trip for my daughter, Jane.

WILLIAM J. COX and JOHN O. MUDD
Effective Catholic Health Care Sponsors Are Elders, Guides and Guardians

Health care systems in the United States have leadership structures comprised of boards and management. Most Catholic health care systems are unique in that they include another layer of leadership called a "public juridic person" or, in common parlance, the "sponsors."

BRIAN M. KANE, Ph.D.

When is a person dead? This question has significance in the Catholic understanding of organ transplants from donors, both living and dead, and to recipients, because it frames our Catholic approach to how to best care for all involved.

BETSY TAYLOR
Summer 2024

The National Institutes of Health describes whole-person health as looking at the whole person "not just separate organs or body systems — and considering multiple factors that promote either health or disease."

JILL FISK, MATM
The Practice of Keeping Sabbath Cultivates Joy

Buried beneath the hum of external notifications lies an internal nagging, an innate obligation to perform, produce and have something to show for our work. Necessary in one sense, it keeps us rooted in what is needed to accomplish a task or goal.

DARREN M. HENSON, PhD, STL
Your Soul Wants a Picnic

Summertime evokes playfulness and refreshment, distinct from the other seasons. And with it comes outdoor activities, dining alfresco and donning shorts and sandals, which sparks a sense of glee.

JAMMIE ALBERT, SARAH WELLER PEGNA and MEGAN GREIG
How Local Partnerships Can Improve Maternal and Infant Health, Address Structural Barriers

The well-being of mothers, infants and children is important to a thriving community and can determine the health of future generations and impact future public health challenges.

INDU SPUGNARDI
Framing the Conversation to Build Thriving Long-Term Care

Our nation has a unique opportunity to reimagine long-term care, particularly related to the direct care workforce. Direct care workers — such as certified nursing assistants, home health aides and personal care aides — are the backbone of the long-term care system, delivering hands-on care to older adults and individuals with disabilities.

BRUCE COMPTON
Illuminating New Pathways to Address Global Workforce Challenges

Nestled in the heart of Trento, Italy, against the scenic and peaceful backdrop of the Dolomite Mountains, lies a former chapel at the entrance to research institute Foundation Bruno Kessler.

ALLISON DELANEY, MA, MPH, BCC, CLARA DINA HINOJOSA, MA, AND KARLA KEPPEL, MA

LAUREN WORTH
Hiring Untapped Talent: 'Anchor' Organizations Share Ways to Diversify, Localize Workforce

Seventeen health systems across the country — including Bon Secours Mercy Health, CHRISTUS Health, CommonSpirit Health and Providence — signed an "Impact Workforce Commitment" last year to build healthy and equitable local economies through their hiring and workforce development programs and policies.

NATHANIEL BLANTON HIBNER, PhD
What Does It Mean To Be a Missionary Disciple in Health Care?

In November 2013, Pope Francis released the Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). This document outlines Francis' vision of the Church as discussed in the Synod of Bishops in 2012.

SR. TERESA MAYA, PhD, CCVI
Women, the Synod and Catholic Health Care: We Must Enlarge the Tent

In 2021, the Catholic Church began a three-year process called the Synod on Synodality to "provide an opportunity for the entire People of God to discern together how to move forward on the path toward being a more synodal Church in the long-term."

BETSY TAYLOR
Spring 2024

Because those who are vowed religious tend not to adopt a "hey, look at me" attitude toward their accomplishments, it may go largely unnoticed and unremarked upon in contemporary society that U.S. Catholic health care has an extraordinary legacy of leadership.

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; I wait for you, O Lord. (PSALMS 25:21)

For reprint permission, contact Betty Crosby or call (314) 253-3490.