Catholic Health Usa Podcast

CHA President and CEO Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, talks about challenges to the ACA and Medicaid, education around palliative care, the clergy sex abuse scandal and the process for selecting her successor.

Mike Rodgers and Lisa Smith from the CHA Advocacy team explain how the 2018 midterm elections may impact health care policy in 2019. Topics discussed include protecting the ACA, expanding Medicaid, and an overview of legislation on palliative care, drug discount pricing, and programs for the elderly.

Mental health issues facing health care professionals, especially physicians, is getting more attention recently and was a major topic at CHA’s Physician Leader Forum in October, 2018. One of the speakers at the forum was Dr. Robert Wicks, an author and psychologist who teaches at Loyola University Maryland and writes and lectures extensively about the prevention of secondary stress. Dr. Wicks shares his insights on how those who care for others need to also care for themselves.

What is palliative and hospice care and what does Catholic social teaching say about it? What conversations do clinicians need to have with their patients and each other about end of life issues? These and other questions are discussed by a panel of experts from CHA, the Archdiocese of Boston, Washington University, Mercy and St. Louis University.

This episode looks at how Catholic health care collaborates with others to extend care in the community. Coletta Barrett, Vice-President of Mission, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Chair of the Board, Mayor's Healthy City Initiative in Baton Rouge, LA, and Julie Trochio, Senior Director, Community Benefit and Continuing Care for CHA are the featured guests.

Highlights from a two-day conference on how Catholic health care can best respond to domestic and international disasters is the focus of this episode. Guests include Lance Mendiola from CHRISTUS Health, Karen Reich from Bon Secours, Dr. Alex Garza from SSM Health, and Kim Burgo from Catholic Charities USA. The episode was taped on-site at CHRISTUS Health in Irving Texas. Note: CHA’s publication “Disaster Response: Considerations for Catholic Health Care” can be ordered and downloaded at www.chausa.org/disaster.

This episode features an interview with David Addiss, MD, MPH, the director of the Focus Area for Compassion and Ethics at the Task Force for Global Health, and adjunct professor at Emory and Notre Dame. Dr. Addiss provides additional insight into his recent Health Progress article about how global health must draw on compassion, solidarity and justice. Bruce Compton, Senior Director of International Outreach for CHA, joins the discussion on how Catholic health care can best work to alleviate suffering in the U.S. and around the world.

Staff from CHA discuss their favorite moments from Assembly 2018 in San Diego. Audio highlights from Assembly speakers Sr. Mary Jean Ryan, Martin Sheen, Jon Meacham and Steve Pemberton are featured. Topics include the impact each individual can have on the lives of others, the state of political discourse in the U.S., immigration, the value of empathy, leadership traits, and CHA’s “Medicaid Makes It Possible” campaign.

The first episode of "Catholic Health USA," focuses on the opioid epidemic and features two segments with Dr. Fred Rottnek, a professor and director of community medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Host Brian Reardon, CHA's vice president of communications and marketing, is joined by Mary Ann Steiner, the editor of Health Progress, and Clay O’Dell, the director of CHA member advocacy, in talking with Dr. Rottnek. In the third segment, Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, CHA's president and chief executive officer, and Dr. Rod Hochman, president and chief executive of Providence St. Joseph Health and chair of CHA's Board of Trustees, discuss health care disrupters.