Partnerships between Catholic Charities and Catholic Healthcare Organizations
Like other healthcare organizations in the United States, Catholic healthcare facilities are developing new relationships with a wide array of partners to extend their ministry and to improve efficiency, coordination, and quality of care.
In forming these partnerships, Catholic-sponsored organizations may have an advantage over others. Through Catholic Charities and other social service programs, the Catholic Church in the United States is the largest provider of human services (see Profile of a Community Partner: Building Networks with Catholic Charities, Catholic Health Association [CHA], 1996). In addition, the Church's network of almost 20,000 parishes enables healthcare organizations to reach into communities where little infrastructure exists. The current movement toward integration of community-based health and social services creates opportunities for Church-sponsored organizations to work together as never before.
In its January-February 1997 issue, Health Progress began offering a series of case studies of such partnerships, hoping they might serve as models for those creating integrated systems of care. These case studies of Catholic Charities agencies and Catholic health organizations were prepared by the Catholic Health Association as part of New Covenant: A Health Ministry for the 21st Century, an initiative cosponsored by the National Coalition on Catholic Health Care Ministry, the Catholic Health Association, and Consolidated Catholic Healthcare. The New Covenant process is designed to strengthen and promote the organized expression of the Catholic health ministry through strategies and actions at the national and regional levels.
Here are two more case studies. Health Progress will present others in future issues.
If your healthcare organization is collaborating with a Catholic Charities agency in your area, we would like to know about it. Please contact Julie Trocchio by phone at 202-296-3993.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg
Contacts: Arnold Andrews
Executive Director
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, FL
813-893-1315
Sr. Pat Shirley, OSF
Director of Missions
St. Joseph's-St. Anthony's Health System
Tampa, FL
813-554-8168
Mandy Peterson
President
Catholic Charities Housing, Inc.
St. Petersburg, FL
813-825-1007
Organizational Structure
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg covers five counties in Florida's Tampa Bay area. Its board of trustees, chaired by Bp. Robert N. Lynch, includes representatives of St. Joseph's-St. Anthony's Health System, Tampa, the area's Catholic healthcare provider.
Goals of Affiliation
Partly because of the special needs of the Tampa Bay area's population, Catholic healthcare and social service organizations have a history of working closely together. Under the Catholic Charities umbrella, they are currently collaborating on four projects.
The Projects
- Housing and Other Services for AIDS Patients. The area has a large number of people who either have AIDS or are HIV positive. Catholic Charities, with a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), bought a three-story building and converted it into an AIDS/HIV service center. St. Anthony's Hospital, St. Petersburg, operates a clinic on the first floor, which is also home to several social service agencies. The upper stories have been made into apartments for AIDS/HIV patients.
- The San Jose Mission. The Tampa Bay area is home base for thousands of migrant farm workers, many of whom are immigrants and very poor. Catholic Charities, with other local social service organizations, created the San Jose Mission in Hillsborough County to help such workers. Established on a 24-acre parcel of land donated by the diocese, the mission includes a Head Start program for younger children, an adult education program, a food pantry (operated by the St. Vincent DePaul Society), legal services, mental health counseling, a parish nurse program (operated by St. Joseph's Hospital, Tampa), a dental program, and police protection (provided by the county sheriff's department). The San Jose Mission is planning to build a community center and 46 homes for migrant workers.
- Osteoporosis Project. With the state health department, Catholic Charities is sponsoring a project to screen and educate older Tampa Bay area residents about the dangers of osteoporosis.
- Wellness Center. Older people make up a large proportion of area residents (Pinellas County, which includes St. Petersburg, has more elderly people than 17 states). A proposed Wellness Center, to be located in a former high school, would offer the area's older adults a continuum of care ranging from preventive education to primary care. Catholic Charities would manage the center with assistance from the staff of St. Joseph's John Knox Village, a Church-sponsored complex for older people. The center's planners hope to make it a model that could be adopted by Catholic parishes around the nation.
Governance Structure
Each project is governed by an advisory board, which in turn reports to Catholic Charities' board.
Staffing and Budget
The AIDS/HIV service center is staffed by 15 clinic workers (from St. Anthony's Hospital) and four social service workers. The San Jose Mission has a staff of 75 to 100 workers, including some 20 volunteers. Catholic Charities estimates that the Wellness Center will have a staff of about 100. The projects are funded by grants, Medicaid and Medicare benefits, and matching funds.
Practical Advice
- Including Catholic healthcare representatives on Catholic Charities' board helps get projects accomplished.
Arts of Living Institute
Chicago
Contact: Patricia Canessa
Director
Arts of Living Institute
Chicago, IL 60610
312-655-7388
Organizational Structure
The Arts of Living Institute was developed by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago in cooperation with the Chicago Board of Health and the Chicago Board of Education.
Goals of Affiliation
The Arts of Living Institute is a specialized program offering services to low-income pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents, their children, and their families. The integrated partnership of education, social services, and health services constitutes a comprehensive approach serving these at-risk families.
The Project
Arts of Living Institute services are available to adolescents during pregnancy and up to one year after delivery. Participants are referred through schools, clinics, community agencies, and word of mouth. Participants enroll in the Arts of Living alternative public school, located at the Catholic Charities Near North Center, and begin appointments at a Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinic. Parents are invited to become part of the therapeutic and educational support system.
Governance Structure
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago serves Cook and Lake Counties. The Arts of Living Institute is a program of the Division of Non-Residential Services for Children and Youth. The Arts of Living school is designated as an alternative public school by the Chicago Board of Education, and the WIC clinic is funded by the Chicago Department of Health. The three components are linked through formal planning and delivery systems.
Staffing and Budget
The Arts of Living Institute is staffed through Catholic Charities with 12 counselors, nurses, and parenting educators, in addition to two clerical staff and a manager.
The operational cost for 1998 is $885,000. Funding is provided by state and local grants; matching funds are provided by the United Way and other private charitable donations.
Effect on the Community
Measurable outcomes of the Arts of Living program include the reduction of adolescent pregnancy rates to 3 percent in a population with an at-risk rate of 36 percent. School drop-out and infant mortality rates have also declined. Recently, the Arts of Living Institute has extended its services through two other community-based services, the Near North Local Area Network and the Cicero West Suburban Latina counseling services, programs designed to enhance parenting skills and prevent risk behaviors.
Practical Advice
- Collaborative, integrated multidisciplinary approaches provide optimum opportunities to improve the likelihood of positive developmental outcomes and enable long-term individual self-sufficiency.
Copyright © 1998 by the Catholic Health Association of the United States
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