Sr. Coyle is president, Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, Mount St. Joseph, OH, and serves on the CHA Board of Trustees as speaker of the Membership Asssembly.
As powerful economic forces drive the rapid integration of providers, we in the Catholic health ministry are living through an ending of some expressions of our ministry and a beginning of new ones. How successfully we emerge from this passage hinges on the degree of passion we bring to the task of redefining our roles.
We can glimpse this passion in the women religious who pioneered our ministry in the 19th century. These women's passionate devotion to Jesus' healing ministry gave them the confidence and courage to transcend the boundaries of geography and tradition and overcome hardships that often seemed overwhelming.
Struggling with today's equally overwhelming challenges, we, too, can draw energy from our collective passion for the ministry. At this year's Catholic Health Assembly, we have a singular opportunity to rekindle that passion as we come together with colleagues and learn together how to initiate new expressions and form new relationships.
This year's assembly helps us address six urgent issues for the ministry:
- Leadership skills and changing roles of sponsors, trustees, and executives
- Physician partnerships
- Strengths of the Catholic heritage we can bring to the negotiating table
- Approaches for lowering costs
- Understanding the impact of complementary medicine
- Methods for supporting a coordinated continuum of care
Refounding Understood
The first part of the assembly focuses on increasing our understanding of the essential role of the Catholic health ministry as a vehicle by which the Church extends the healing mission of Jesus Christ in the world.
Sessions with Rev. Gerald Arbuckle, Margaret J. Wheatley, and Rev. J. Bryan Hehir offer us a renewed sense of hope, purpose, and determination to undertake the challenge of refounding the ministry.
Practical sessions discuss mission as the key to strategic success and show how several organizations are refounding their mission in concrete ways.
Refounding in Action
Part Two of the assembly concentrates on the importance of operations, governance, and public policy in moving the organization toward the ministry vision. Sessions focus on seven key topics:
- Integrated delivery
- Managing the continuum
- Physician relationships
- Organizational change
- Wellness and community health
- Identity and ethics
- Sponsorship and governance
Two intensive sessions address the power of culture in a period of change, and violence as an increasingly important healthcare issue.
Renewing Our Commitment
In these turbulent times, it is imperative that Catholic healthcare maintain a strong ministry presence. This year's Catholic Health Assembly is an indispensable resource to help us develop the skills and knowledge we need to effect meaningful change that serves our communities well. More important, this assembly will help us rearticulate our purpose and enkindle our passion to further the healing mission of Jesus in creative ways.
For more information, call CHA's Assembly Hotline: 800-230-7823.
Copyright © 1995 by the Catholic Health Association of the United States
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