Listen

What are people in your community saying?  What programs, large or small, are working for your colleagues?  What small steps can we take that, when multiplied by many thousands, will make a big difference?Invite a friend or associate to join you for coffee (or better yet, a healthy green tea) and talk about the issues. Use this blog to report back and help us keep a finger on the pulse (so to speak) of the community. 

You can also send us an email at compassion@chw.edu and let us know your thoughts, even if it's just the notes from that coffee meeting. 

Communicating by mail?  Now that's thinking outside the box.  And if we're going to find ways to improve healthcare for everyone, that's exactly what we need.  Here's our address:

Catholic Healthcare West
c/o Compassionate Care Campaign
185 Berry Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94107

Is there a Difference?

Canadian physician and author David Gratzner suggests that the American health care system isn't so different from the Canadian one.  He writes:

...I was fully confident in our system north of the 49th parallel. I was equally appalled by American health care: the high expense, the tragedy of the uninsured, the dissatisfaction. But gradually, my own views on Canadian health care changed. The most important lesson I learned wasn’t in the classroom, but on the way to one. On a blisteringly cold Winnipeg morning, I decided to cut through the hospital ER in order to shave a few minutes off my commute. Swinging open the door, I stepped into a nightmare: The ER was packed with elderly people on stretchers, awaiting admission. The air hung heavy with the odours of sweat and urine and fear. At that moment, I began to reconsider everything I thought I knew.

Where Will the Change Occur?

A reader asks: "Where do you foresee change coming from?"

The answer is, realistically, everywhere. Health care is as essential to social well being as is the availability of food and shelter. To make real change happen individuals, health providers and insurers, and society at large will all have to work together.

We believe the approach to this discussion needs to have the long-term effect of reform in mind. This is more than a conversation about changing the payment system; it is an examination of how a compassionate system should function.

These are some of the questions we are considering as we work towards reform:

• Individuals: How can individuals be better empowered to maintain their own health and prevent disease, especially considering the economic disparities and barriers that exist?
• Health Providers and Insurers: What should we expect from the delivery and insurance system? What should the experience be of the individual moving through the system?
• Society: What role should society play in ensuring that an effective and compassionate health care system is maintained? What is the government's role? What is the best use of society's finite resources? How do we control the cost of care?

You can join us in the exploration of these questions on this blog or by emailing us.

Reform Hopes Spring in California

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he wants another try at health care reform. From the article:

A Field Poll out this week found that nearly three-quarters of Californians supported the basic principles of his health plan, a result Schwarzenegger said should give new momentum to the proposal.

"I think that will inspire everyone here that we were on the right track, that those that had doubts, that those that used the budget as an excuse for not passing it . . . that we were doing the right thing and they were wrong," Schwarzenegger told the AP during a 30-minute interview in his Capitol office.

"Now we'll try again. We will continue on, keeping the stakeholders together, fine-tuning it and seeing if we can improve on it since we have the time now, then be back again. We feel very confident."

CHW was very much a part of the coalition of diverse interests that worked to build the health care reform proposal for California last year. We were disappointed that California's leaders were unable to seize the opportunity to improve access to care for millions of Californians at that time. 

Nonetheless, we remain encouraged that our state leaders reached consensus on several key areas, including stabilizing the financing system and increasing transparency and quality.

We will continue to offer our support to California's political leaders to keep health care reform a priority.  We are advocating for a system that is affordable, spreads responsibility, covers everyone, has a stable financing system, prizes quality and compassion above all, and improves accountability.

Defining Compassion

What do we really mean by compassion?  What is compassionate care?

A Google search generates more than 24 million hits.  Most agree that compassion involves two things: the awareness of suffering AND a desire to take action to alleviate that suffering.

For it to be compassion, one cannot happen without the other.

How have you witnessed compassion in your life?  What issues or circumstances invoke your own compassion?

Add your story to the comments of this post or email us.

Good for the Planet, Good for the Patient

At CHW, we seek to create a healing environment while minimizing the environmental impact of our work. On our minds, if it's good for the planet, it's good for the patient.

One of the ways we're reducing our carbon footprint is through energy retrofits at our hospitals. Since 2001, we've identified and implemented specific projects aimed at reducing energy and water consumption. We estimate that our efforts are reducing electric consumption by 16 percent and natural gas consumption by 7 percent.

Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria, California, for example, has installed a state-of-the-art system of transforming methane gas waste from the local landfill into "green" energy. Not only is this process fueling and powering the hospital, it is also significantly reducing methane emissions into the environment.

Readiness for Reform in the U.S.

Some telling statistics from our 2008 Health Security Index:

• 69% of U.S. adults believe the time has come for universal healthcare in America
• 57% beleive we need universal healthcare, even if it means raising taxes
• 80% agree that Congress needs to address healthcare affordability this year

Meaningful reform will require dialogue, the acceptance of diverse views and above all, compromise.  Wtih the human right of healthcare at stake, all of us must work together to make sure future generations inherit a healthcare system that embraces quality and compassion.

Talking About Mental Illness

Canada's Chatham Daily News calls the question:

Why does society not want to talk about mental illness? Why is mental illness such a source of so many flippant remarks or cruel jokes? There is a lack of understanding in our society to the degree that two thirds of those experiencing a mental illness do not seek help or will not talk about what they are going through because of their fears of being rejected or stigmatized.

And yet we all know someone who has experienced or are experiencing such difficulties. Remember: one in five people [will be diagnosed with mental illness at some point in their lives].

Mental illness is real - so what can you and I do about it? There are many different kinds of services available, although in some communities while limited, there have been improvements over the last number of years. However, as a society we can all help by reducing the stigma. Mental illness is like any other illness - it is not caused because someone is weak, it is not always something that people will never recover from, it does not make people commit crimes, and it is not a result of being lazy.

The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We'll be blogging more about it then. Stay tuned.

Beyond Hospital Walls

An article in today's Merced Sun-Star highlights one of our hospitals - Mercy Medical Center, Merced - as they work to help patients recieve care after they're released from the hospital.

It's important to us that everyone who comes to us for care are able to access ongoing treatment and primary care. There are a lot of ways we accomplish this. One way is through the kind of patient advocacy described in the Merced Sun-Star article.

Another is by helping people obtain affordable coverage through public or private programs. In 2007 alone we assisted 51,000 patients through the application process for insurance coverage.

For those of you who may be wondering if you're eligible for coverage, or know someone who might be, the Foundation for Health Coverage Education is a good resource. We're partnering with them on coverage drives in the communities we serve to help get the word out. Pass along the information and find out if you're eligible.

Asking the Fundamental Questions

Beginning the week of April 7th, Catholic Healthcare West has been running full page advertisements in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.  The ads ask a series of provocative questions about our health care system and how it can be better.

We've always been of the mind that, first and foremost, we are here to serve our communities.  We at CHW take it to be our responsibility as leaders in the field to provoke thought and discussion.  That's what this blog is about.

Let your friends and family know about us, and if you have any ideas - or just want to share your experience - please email us or post a comment.