Health Calls

We’re now six months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and while the military operations continue in full force, it feels as if global interest may be waning. What’s happening in Ukraine at the end of summer 2022, and what is the global church doing in response? In the first conversation of a two-part episode, CHA’s Sr. Director of Global Health Bruce Compton and Msgr. Robert Vitillo, Secretary G...

Formation has been called the heartbeat of Catholic health care and is vital to the success of the ministry’s future. In a world where in-person access becomes increasingly complicated, how can systems best provide formation for their associates? In the inaugural episode of Health Calls Diarmuid Rooney, CHA’s Sr. Director of Ministry Formation, and Mary Anne Sladich-Lantz, Senior Vice President of...

Virtual care is here to stay.  But what exactly is it?  In this episode, Sandy Dieleman, CEO of Avera@Home and Dr. Carter Fenton, medical director of Mercy’s vAcute , discuss how the pandemic helped hardwire telehealth as a viable and important element in delivering health care into the homes of patients and the important role it plays in helping care for those suffering from chronic conditions.  ...

The importance of a strong global health network has become abundantly clear during COVID-19.  As Catholic health care in the United States continues to support global health initiatives during pandemics, wars and natural disasters, how relief efforts are organized and implemented requires intentional planning and coordination.  Mary Beth Powers, President and CEO of CMMB joins Bruce Compton, CHA’...

» Addressing the Shortage of Workers in Long-Term Car (HP Article) Health Calls is available on the following podcast streaming platforms: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Learn more about The Catholic Health Association of the United States at www.chausa.org.

For many, including some health care professionals, palliative care is often equated with hospice care despite differences in how they apply to patients.  In this episode Dr. Glen Komatsu, regional chief medical officer of Hospice & Palliative Care for Providence St. Joseph Health, Southern California, and Denise Hess, CHA’s director of Supportive Care, explain the benefits of palliative care and...

This episode looks at the importance of environmental justice from both a domestic and global perspective.  Guests Laura Anderko of Villanova University, and Susan Barnett of Faiths for Safe Water, provide fresh insights into the articles they each wrote for the 2021 Fall Issue of Health Progress .  The topic of environmental justice also connects to CHA’s Confronting Racism by Achieving Health Eq...

CHA is participating in a racial equity storytelling project that focuses on families dealing with the pandemic who live in the 63106 zip code of St. Louis. Dick Weiss, the project’s co-founder, joins resident Kim Daniel who discusses the challenges she and her neighbors face in their community. Kim also provides her personal perspective on why she is hesitant to accept the COVID-19 vaccine.  Rela...

The number of uninsured children in the U.S. has risen significantly in the past few years. In this episode, Professor Joan Alker from Georgetown University and Dr. Heidi Sallee from SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital discuss the reasons for this trend, the policy implications, and what Catholic health care can do to help increase coverage for kids.   Catholic health care works to rev...

Catholic Social Teaching is at the very core of Catholic health care. But how is it applied to the the business side of the ministry, especially when tough decisions are being made? Fr. Michael Rozier, PhD, an assistant professor of health management and policy at St. Louis University, and Fr. Joseph Driscoll, DMin, director of ministry formation and organizational spirituality at Redeemer Health,...

Whether it's wildfires, floods, hurricanes or a global pandemic, we are constantly reminded about the reality of climate change and the challenges we face to protect the environment. What role does Catholic health care play in shaping policy, promoting positive change and mitigating harm to God’s creation? Lois Sechrist, environmental stewardship manager at Ascension, and Rachelle Reyes Wenger, sy...

Many Catholic nursing homes and long-term care facilities are closing, being sold, or being reconfigured in an effort to keep them viable. Howard Gleckman, senior fellow at The Urban Institute, and Susan McDonough, the Catholic Eldercare and Acute Care specialist for Ziegler Investment Banking, discuss the various challenges these facilities face and how to pursue policy changes that improve the c...

Amidst the public discourse about COVID-19 vaccines are questions and concerns pertaining to moral implications and religious objections. Fr. Tom Nairn, PhD, a trained ethicist and author of several books on bioethics, joins Dr. Reginald Eadie, president and CEO at Trinity Health of New England, in countering some of the myths and clarifying some of the misinformation that has arisen.     CHA’s Lo...

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 V...

Using CHA’s reflection and meditative videos, this podcast leads the listener through almost an hour of self-care exercises. Health Calls is available on the following podcast streaming platforms: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Learn more about The Catholic Health Association of the United States at www.chausa.org.

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 articles Creating a Goo...

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 Prog...

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...

Health Calls is available on the following podcast streaming platforms: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Learn more about The Catholic Health Association of the United States at www.chausa.org.

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 t...

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 ben...

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 B...

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.   Health Calls is availabl...

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. RESOUR...

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...