Panelists at ethics meeting discuss what makes health care Catholic

Published: 2007-03-06

CHICAGO (CNS) -- A declining number of vowed religious in the hallways or fewer crucifixes on the walls do not make Catholic hospitals any less Catholic, as long as they continue their mission to serve the least among us, according to panelists at a conference in Chicago. Three leaders in Catholic health care and ethics discussed "Catholic Health Care as Mission" Feb. 28 to open a three-day conference on "Catholic Health Care Ethics: The Tradition and Contemporary Culture" at Loyola University Chicago in suburban Maywood. With health care "a multibillion-dollar business," some might wonder "if we look a whole lot different than for-profit hospitals," said Brian Yanofchick, senior vice president for mission services at the Catholic Health Association. "But we still offer a lot of services that others don't want to touch these days" because they are not profitable, he added. "Caring for the poor is an integral part of what we do, but it creates a lot of struggles," said Patricia Cassidy, senior vice president for system development and strategy at Loyola University Health System. "The burden is on us to make sure we give people an opportunity to understand what we are about."

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