Catholic Health Usa Podcast

The International Year of the Nurse and Midwife coincided with the “Year of COVID-19.”  In this episode, we hear from two authors who contributed articles for the Fall 2020 Nurses Leading the Way issue of Health Progress.  Sr. Rosemary Donley, a nursing professor at Duquesne University, discusses how the pandemic can reshape the future of nursing education, while Kathy Sanford, executive senior VP and chief nursing officer for CommonSpirit Health, talks about how it has the underscored the importance of nurse leaders. Related Health Progress Articles Reshaping the Future of Nursing EducationNurses in Executive Practice: A Specialty for Today and Tomorrow

Using CHA’s reflection and meditative videos, this podcast leads the listener through almost an hour of self-care exercises.

Guests Ruth Katz from Leading Age, a nonprofit focused on education, advocacy and applied research for older adults, and Justin Hinker, the administrator of Avera Prince of Peace Retirement Community in Sioux Falls, S.D., share their perspectives on how the pandemic has created new challenges and opportunities for those who care for older persons.   Related Health Progress articlesCreating a Good Country to Grow Old InThe Pandemic and Lessons to Share in Long-Term Care 

A priest and a law professor come together for a robust discussion on how the common good can be better understood in the context of public policy, particularly health care policy. Fr. Charles Bouchard, CHA's senior director, theology and sponsorship, joins Prof. Sam Halabi, the Manley Hudson professor of Law at the University of Missouri – Columbia, to share insights from their recent Health Progress articles.Advocacy, Prophecy and the Common GoodACA Insurance Expansion Shows Signs of Reducing Racial Disparities 

The role of hospital chaplain has been evolving, and COVID-19 has created new challenges and opportunities for how chaplains provide spiritual care and emotional support for patients, their loved ones, and fellow caregivers.  Guests Chelsea Leitcher, a chaplain who served with Dignity Health, and Jane Levdansky, a chaplain with SSM Health, share their experiences and insights of how their ministry has changed during the pandemic. Related Health Progress articles:Post-Intensive Care Syndrome and the Role of ChaplainsChaplains Minister Amidst Changes Brought by Pandemic

The pandemic is requiring clinicians to make major adjustments in how they provide care.  Laura McKinnis, who serves as a nurse practitioner in emergency medicine in the Milwaukee area, shares her experience in caring for COVID-19 patients, her family and herself. Cindy Rosburg, chief human resources officer at Mercy in St. Louis, provides an overview of changes their system has made to care for their caregivers during the crisis. Health Progress article: Gazing Through the Maskwww.medicineasministry.com

Would you be willing to sacrifice some personal privacy so that you or a loved one could live a longer, healthier life?  That’s the main question explored in this episode featuring Alan Pitt, MD, a professor of neuroradiology at the Barrow Neurological Institute (part of CommonSpirit Health).  Dr. Pitt is joined by CHA Director of Ethics Nathaniel Blanton Hibner, PhD for a discussion about the benefits, risks and ethical and practical considerations around the use of personal data in delivering health care.  Health Progress articleData in Health Care: Would You Share Information to Gain Better Care?

Catholic health care has an international presence and CHA members in the U.S. support this global ministry through donations of surplus medical supplies and equipment and organizing and staffing medical missions.  In this episode, we discuss how the Catholic church in Tanzania and Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach in Springfield, IL are working together to improve health in that country.  CHA’s Brian Reardon and Bruce Compton talk with Fr. Charles Kittima, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Tanzania, and Georgia Winson, executive director of Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach. Links:Hospital Sisters Mission OutreachCHA Global Health resources

Stable housing and reliable transportation have a direct link to the health status of individuals.  In this episode, Jane Graf, President and CEO, Mercy Housing, and Will Snyder, Sr. VP, Chief Advocacy Officer, AMITA Health, discuss how Catholic health care is collaborating with other organizations to ensure the housing and transportation needs of their patients are met.  

As the laity are increasingly called to serve as leaders and sponsors in Catholic health care, it is imperative that they have the education, ministry formation and spiritual practices needed for these roles. Sister Maureen McGuire, DC, of Ascension, Patrick McCruden of SSM Health, and Diarmuid Rooney of CHA discuss the development of lay leaders who will carry the ministry’s torch forward.RESOURCES FOR THIS EPISODEMinistry Formation Overview webpageHealth Progress articles:Ministry Identity and the Work of Mission IntegrationFormation – A Spiritual Antidote to the Tyranny of the UrgentFormation Revitalizes Health Care Ministry100th Anniversary – Sponsors are Called to be Prophets and Reformers

The CDC reports more than 45,000 Americans died from suicide in 2016. How health care organizations and policy makers can better address this epidemic is the focus of this discussion with Lisa Picker, the mother of a suicide victim and an advocate for better mental health care, and Benjamin F. Miller, chief strategy officer of the Well Being Trust. CHA Suicide Prevention resources Health Progress article, "His Name was Liam" * Live performance of "Winter" by Liam Picker and Gohei Nishikawa

Mark Kuczewski, PhD, professor of medical ethics at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, and Fr. Corey Brost, director of Viator House of Hospitality, discuss the many challenges facing undocumented youth and share their insights on what Catholic health care can do to support them. Related Health Progress articles: Limbo Really Exists: Undocumented Youth at Risk Asylum Seekers Find Safe Haven Links mentioned in episode: Loyola Sanctuary Doctor resource page Viator House of Hospitality

Brian and Mary Ann review the 2019 CHA Assembly. Highlights include a panel discussion on the clergy abuse scandal, a bi-partisan discussion about Medicare for All, comments from CHA’s incoming and outgoing chairpersons, remarks by the award recipients and a final thank you from Sr. Carol Keehan, DC.

From natural elements and religious art, to meaningful encounters with staff, the environment where health care services are provided plays an vital role in the healing process. In this episode Philip Boyle, senior vice president, mission and ethics, Trinity Health, and Zeni Fox, a member of the Ascension Sponsor and professor emerita, Seton Hall University, share their insights and experiences in helping create healing spaces.

This podcast is a recording of an April 29 teleconference with CHA members following the announcement of Sr. Mary Haddad, RSM, as the new president and CEO of CHA. During the first part of the teleconference, Sr. Mary talks about her background and then joins Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, CHA’s current president and CEO, to discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead for Catholic health care and the transition in leadership.

Genetic engineering holds the promise of curing and preventing disease. But as this technology advances and is more widely adopted, there are a variety of moral and ethical issues to consider. In this episode, Dr. Paul Scherz, PhD, from The Catholic University of America, and Fr. Kevin FitzGerald, SJ, PhD, from Creighton University, discuss the ethics of biomedical research and medical genomics.

Every human needs food and water to live. But are these basic elements for life equitably available and is Catholic health care giving them adequate attention and reverence? To discuss those and other questions, we brought together three authors who contributed to the March-April 2019 issue of Health Progress: Francine Blinten, a clinical nutritionist with the Connecticut Mental Health Center, Jon Magnuson, director of Cedar Tree Institute, and Camille Grippon, system director, global ministries, Bon Secours Mercy Health.

CHA has launched the “Medicaid Makes It Possible” campaign to help ensure Medicaid remains viable. A panel of experts discuss why Medicaid is vital to our nation’s health care delivery system and some of the policy challenges facing the program. Guests include Cindy Mann, former deputy administrator and director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP at CMS, currently a partner with the Manatt Health Team; Joan Alker, Executive Director, Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University; Angela Botticella, chief of staff, CHA; and Rhonda Medows, MD, President, Population Health Management at Providence St. Joseph Health. Learn more at www.chausa.org/medicaid

The Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking consists of national and international agencies working to eliminate the scourge of human trafficking. Two coalition members - Anne Victory, HM, RN, MSN, Director of Education Collaborative to End Human Trafficking, and Hilary Chester, PhD, Associate Director for Anti-Trafficking Programs, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops - discuss what is being done to identify and help victims. For a list of resources and groups addressing human trafficking visit: CHA's Human Trafficking website