House Resolution 441

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution 441 in honor of the Catholic sisters in the United States. As an organization founded and sponsored by Catholic sisters we would be remiss if we let this honor pass without bringing it to our readers:

HRES 441 EH
H. Res. 441
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
September 22, 2009.

Whereas the social, cultural, and political contributions of Catholic sisters have played a vital role in shaping life in the United States;

Whereas such women have joined in unique forms of intentional communitarian life dedicated to prayer and service since the very beginnings of our Nation’s history, fearlessly and often sacrificially committing their personal lives to teaching, healing, and social action;

Whereas the first Catholic sisters to live and work in the United States were nine Ursuline Sisters, who journeyed from France to New Orleans in 1727;

Whereas at least nine sisters from the United States have been martyred since 1980 while working for social justice and human rights overseas;

Whereas Maura Clark, MM, Ita Ford, MM, and Dorothy Kazel, OSU were martyred in El Salvador in 1980;

Whereas Joel Kolmer, ASC, Shirley Kolmer, ASC, Kathleen McGuire, ASC, Agnes Mueller, ASC, and Barbara Ann Muttra, ASC were martyred in Liberia in 1992;

Whereas Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN was martyred in Brazil in 2005;

Whereas Catholic sisters established the Nation’s largest private school system and founded more than 110 United States colleges and universities, educating millions of young people in the United States;

Whereas there were approximately 32,000 Catholic sisters in the United States who taught 400,000 children in 2,000 parochial schools by 1880, and there were 180,000 Catholic sisters who taught nearly 4,500,000 children by 1965;

Whereas today, there are approximately 59,000 Catholic sisters in the United States;

Whereas Catholic sisters participated in the opening of the West, traveling vast distances to minister in remote locations, setting up schools and hospitals, and working among native populations on distant reservations;

Whereas more than 600 sisters from 21 different religious communities nursed both Union and Confederate soldiers alike during the Civil War;

Whereas Catholic sisters cared for afflicted populations during the epidemics of cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, smallpox, tuberculosis, and influenza during the 19th and early 20th centuries;

Whereas Catholic sisters built and established hospitals, orphanages, and charitable institutions that have served millions of people, managing organizations long before similar positions were open to women;

Whereas approximately one in six hospital patients in the United States were treated in a Catholic facility;

Whereas Catholic sisters have been among the first to stand with the underprivileged, to work and educate among the poor and underserved, and to facilitate leadership through opportunity and example;

Whereas Catholic sisters continue to provide shelter, food, and basic human needs to the economically or socially disadvantaged and advocate relentlessly for the fair and equal treatment of all persons;

Whereas Catholic sisters work for the eradication of poverty and racism and for the promotion of nonviolence, equality, and democracy in principle and in action;

Whereas the humanitarian work of Catholic sisters with communities in crisis and refuge throughout the world positions them as activists and diplomats of peace and justice for the some of the most at risk populations; and

Whereas the Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America Traveling Exhibit is sponsored by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in association with Cincinnati Museum Center and will open on May 16, 2009, in Cincinnati, Ohio: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

1. honors and commends Catholic sisters for their humble service and courageous sacrifice throughout the history of this Nation; and
2. supports the goals of the Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America Traveling Exhibit, a project sponsored by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in association with Cincinnati Museum Center and established to recognize the historical contributions of Catholic sisters in the United States.

Answers to Your Health Reform Questions

The Detroit Free Press publishes a helpful Q&A today on the health care reform debate. It's notable for its straight-forward tone and lack of unecessary adjectives. If you're ever in doubt about a health reform claim you've been hearing, you can always check out www.politifact.org or www.factcheck.org to decipher fact from fiction.

For now, a few of the more salient pieces from the Detroit Free Press' article:

Do we need health care reform? Health care expenses in the United States have been rising a lot faster than either inflation or wages, and there is no end in sight. National health spending is expected to be about $2.5 trillion this year—approaching 18% of the U.S. gross domestic product. The Business Roundtable, a group of top American CEOs, says health care costs for employers will rise 166% over the next decade to more than $4.4 trillion if something doesn’t change. Meanwhile, the trust fund that pays for Medicare—the nation’s biggest health care program, mainly for seniors over age 65—could run out of cash by 2017 if ways aren’t found to reduce the increase in health care costs.

But doesn’t the U.S. have the best health care in the world? That depends on who you ask and how you measure it. The World Health Organization, in a 2000 report, ranked the U.S. system 37th in the world (France and Italy were No. 1 and 2, respectively), but the report took into account the issue of “financial fairness.” And by that measure, socialized systems of medicine do better than private ones, like that in the United States. On the other hand, America was No. 1 in responsiveness of care, meaning we do better in getting people care when and where they want or need it. It’s also true though that the U.S. pays far more than other countries for health care but its life expectancy is lower than Japan, France, Italy, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.

What is this so-called public option everyone is talking about and is it a good thing? The public option would be a government insurance plan, with different levels of coverage. It would be an option on the exchange (see previous question) just like the others from private insurers and no one would be required to use the public option. It would not provide universal coverage as in other countries, such as Canada, where government provides health care to all.

Still, the public option is controversial and here’s why: Insurers argue the government would have an unfair advantage in the market and be able to undercut insurance company prices to a level where they could be driven out of business. Supporters of the public option say that’s not the case – no taxpayer money would be used to prop it up, only premiums, like other insurers – and that it’s a good way to ensure that private insurers keep their profits – and monthly premiums for their customers – down.

Will I pay less for health care? That depends entirely on what happens to health care costs, what kind of coverage you have (and through whom) and, potentially, your income. If you don’t get coverage through your job – and you’re paying for insurance that’s a big chunk of your income because of a pre-existing condition or because you make less than three times the federal poverty line—you’re likely to get a break or a subsidy. And you’ll probably pay less. On the other hand, if you don’t pay for insurance because you’re young and healthy and don’t want it, then you’re going to have to pay – like it or not.

If you have coverage through your employer, there’s a good chance your situation won’t change much. Finally, if you have a high-priced plan, it’s likely that an additional fee for that plan is going to be charged to your insurer as a way to help pay for reform, and there’s a very good chance your insurer is going to pass that fee onto you either though higher premiums, higher deductibles or lower benefits.

Does the bill provide health insurance to illegal immigrants? No. The Senate Finance bill expressly requires personal information to keep illegal immigrants out of the health care exchange. Like the House bill, it prohibits federal subsidies to illegal immigrants to help pay for insurance. But the House bill does not expressly stop illegal immigrants getting insurance through the exchange.

Dare to Imagine Better, Cheaper Care

by Lloyd Dean, President/CEO, Catholic Healthcare West

The debate over health care reform continues to heat up across the country. But the heat isn’t shedding much light. Instead of continuing to stir up fear and anxiety, let’s take a breath and reflect on why reform is needed: so that the quality of the health care you receive will get better, cost less, and be there when you need it.

Picture this scenario a few years in the future following reform: Despite having improved your health by losing weight and increasing your exercise (which you’ve accomplished through programs entirely paid by your health insurance), you are admitted to your local hospital because you’re experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack. 

Thanks to the expanded use of electronic medical records, the hospital knows you are on your way, who your doctor is, what drugs you are taking, which ones you are allergic to, and what types of diagnoses and treatments you’ve had.

Because of reform measures promoting use of the best methods of care, the physicians at the hospital are aware of the most recent studies about your condition and they have an individual care plan developed for you. Your care plan at your local community hospital is as up to date as it would have been at a research hospital. 

After you leave the hospital, you participate in a months-long integrated recovery and rehabilitation program under supervision of your primary care doctor. The program keeps you from having to be readmitted because you have followed the regimen of exercise and proper medication. 

As a result of these efficiencies, your health insurance costs are affordable. You feel better about the care you receive, your family is thrilled about your recovery, and your physician and hospital are pleased about the care they provided.

And, on top of all of this, you aren’t worried about taking that new job you are considering, because health insurance companies can’t deny you coverage based on this pre-existing condition.

A dream scenario? It doesn’t have to be if Congress achieves the reforms that can result in truly improved care for you and your family.

Today, our health care delivery system is too fragmented to achieve optimum results. Handwritten records, cryptic insurance forms, confusion about primary or specialist coverage, and a stifling layer of laws and regulations make it virtually impossible to provide integrated medical care.

That can change for the better. The health reform proposals being considered in Congress contain a number of vital measures that can give us the health care future we all want:

• A focus on quality by establishing best care protocols and sponsoring research programs to spur treatment innovations;
• Incentives that reward improved care rather than redundant procedures;
• The use of electronic medical records, by a greater investment in information technology;
• Coordinated care among providers;
• A focus on preventive care that provides the right care at the right time in the best setting;
• Evidence-based care that reduces health disparities; and
• Health insurance portability so that changing jobs or moving to a new city or state doesn’t jeopardize an individual’s continuity of care.

Of course, the health care debate encompasses broader issues of program funding, cost reduction initiatives, and expanding coverage to the uninsured. These issues have provoked a heated battle in Washington, DC precisely because of their scope and impact on the federal budget and everyone in the United States.

We may be weary of watching the political maneuvering associated with reform. But all of us have a deep and vested interest in policies that ultimately affect our own health, as well as the health of our country’s economy.

At Catholic Healthcare West, we hope that everyone will take a break to look beyond the headlines and bickering. Think about how health reform can dramatically improve the lives of you and your family. We think that after a closer look, and a renewed focus on the objective, people will breathe easier about the idea of reforming our health care system.

Shamans in the Hospital

The New York Times featured CHW's Mercy Medical Center in Merced, Calif. on Sunday. The story focuses on the multicultural care offered at the hospital, specifically within the Hmong community.

The patient in Room 328 had diabetes and hypertension. But when Va Meng Lee, a Hmong shaman, began the healing process by looping a coiled thread around the patient's wrist, Mr. Lee's chief concern was summoning the ailing man's runaway soul.

“Doctors are good at disease,” Mr. Lee said as he encircled the patient, Chang Teng Thao, a widower from Laos, in an invisible “protective shield” traced in the air with his finger. “The soul is the shaman’s responsibility.”

At Mercy Medical Center in Merced, where roughly four patients a day are Hmong from northern Laos, healing includes more than IV drips, syringes and blood glucose monitors. Because many Hmong rely on their spiritual beliefs to get them through illnesses, the hospital’s new Hmong shaman policy, the country’s first, formally recognizes the cultural role of traditional healers like Mr. Lee, inviting them to perform nine approved ceremonies in the hospital, including “soul calling” and chanting in a soft voice.

The policy and a novel training program to introduce shamans to the principles of Western medicine are part of a national movement to consider patients’ cultural beliefs and values when deciding their medical treatment. The approach is being adopted by dozens of medical institutions and clinics across the country that cater to immigrant, refugee and ethnic-minority populations.

Certified shamans, with their embroidered jackets and official badges, have the same unrestricted access to patients given to clergy members.

Jim Sabin at the Health Care Organizational Ethics blog offers his thoughts on the article. We're very proud of this program, and other multicultural care programs at our other facilities. This work is part of our mission to care for the whole person.

CHW Road to Health Reform

Over July and August this year six CHW hospitals held health reform town hall meetings in their communities. The tone of these town halls stand in stark contrast to the town halls that were covered on the news. In all, more than 750 people of all ages came together to talk about the health system and the changes they hoped to see in a reformed system. Take a look: 

Care for Our Patients, Care for Earth

Our mission to protect the Earth extends inside and outside our hospital walls. Take a look at this video from the National Science Foundation featuring our linen services at St. Joseph's Hospital in Stockton, CA: