Health Calls

In times of financial hardship, it can be challenging to prioritize investments in projects make sweeping commitments to that address matters such as the climate crisis. But with health impacts related to environmental degradation becoming an increasing part of our daily lives, such investments have never been more important. 

Indu Spugnardi, CHA Director of Advocacy and Resource Development, and Gary Cohen, President of Health Care Without Harm, join the podcast to discuss the urgent need to prioritize environmental stewardship in health care work. They address financial incentives to advance environmental sustainability, areas where systems can make the most impactful changes, and the Laudato Si' Action Platform, a Vatican-led initiative to inspire radical change in the fight against climate change.

Resources

• CHA’s Environment page
• Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home (Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical)
• Watch “The Letter” a documentary commissioned from The Vatican about Laudato Si’ and the ecological crisis facing our planet
• Health Care Without Harm’s Official Website
• Visit COP27’s official website to follow updates from the 2022 United Nations Climate Conference
• How Health Care Can Lead the Way on Renewable Energy (Health Progress article authored by Gary Cohen)
• Combating Global Warming: Healthy Climate, Healthy People (Health Progress article authored by Gary Cohen)
• Thinking Green on Behalf of Patients and Workers (Health Progress article authored by Gary Cohen)

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.

One of the first steps of engaging in meaningful Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work involves examining our own history of racial inequity. How have our organizations contributed to structural racism, and how can we work to be more accountable for the past?

Professors M. Therese Lysaught and Sheri Bartlett Browne join Brian Reardon and CHA’s Editor of Health Progress Betsy Taylor to discuss their Spring 2022 article entitled, “Writing Your System’s Racial Autobiography.” Lysaught and Browne give insight into how their work together started and how they’ve seen health systems respond to doing the hard work of visiting the past.

Resources

“Writing Your System’s Racial Autobiography” article from the Spring 2022 edition of Health Progress

We Are Called website

CHA’s Diversity and Disparities web page

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.

Communion with the saints is a specific theological doctrine that can feel strange to non-Catholics working in Catholic health care. But is there more to this doctrine than simply praying to spiritual heroes? Can we view the saints as people from whom we can look to for inspiration and reflection?

CHA’s Mission Project Coordinator Karla Keppel and Fr. John Fontana, OSM, discuss communion with the saints as a way of drawing inspiration from imperfect people who have gone before us, highlighting the life of St. Peregrine Laziosi as one specific example. They also discuss “Inspired By the Saints: Contemplations for the Catholic Health Ministry,” a new series of reflections offered by CHA.

Producer’s Note: Artist Lydia Wood is a Nurse Case Manager rather than a Nurse Manager, as described in the episode.

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.

Artificial Intelligence is changing the world with every passing day, especially in the health care industry. But are we correct to trust that machine learning can effectively do the work needed and will A.I. prevent harm or perpetuate it?

CHA Senior Director of Public Policy Kathy Curran and Michael Miller, System Vice President of Mission and Ethics at SSM Health, discuss ethical concerns that arise from AI use, including complex power dynamics, data privacy and how computers can contribute to systemic racism and inequity.

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 more than 4 out of 10 new moms in the United States, postpartum care is covered by Medicaid. But when coverage ends after 60 days, these mothers are left vulnerable to some of the most dangerous complications of childbirth.

CHA Director of Government Relations Paulo Pontemayor and Kinda Serafi, J.D., Partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, discuss tax-payer benefits to closing the gap, advocating for expansion and the impact communities would see if postpartum coverage was permanently extended.

Resources

CHA’s “Medcaid Makes it Possible” Webpage

CHA’s Maternal Health Webpage

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.

Medicaid is an integral part of our health care system, covering millions of men, women and children who would otherwise be uninsured. Yet millions of these people may soon be in danger of losing their coverage.

CHA Director of Government Relations Paulo Pontemayor and Corey Surber, St. Alphonsus’ Director of State Advocacy, relay why Medicaid coverage is essential to Catholic values, define “Medicaid Redetermination,” and explain how systems can advocate for their patients so that they don’t lose coverage.

Resources

CHA’s “Medcaid Makes it Possible” Webpage

CHA Webinar on Medcaid Redetermination (recorded in May 2022)

Official Medicaid and CHIP Renewal Page

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.

Following their conversation with Msgr. Robert Vitillo of the International Catholic Migration Commission, Brian and CHA’s Sr. Director of Global Health Bruce Compton continue their conversation about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Christian Kostko, a consultant with the Catholic Response for Ukraine, joins the program from Ukraine and updates us on the morale of the Ukrainian people. Kostko also highlights some of the biggest needs facing war-torn communities and the importance of working with well-connected international partners when looking to donate material goods.

Resources

CHA’s Ukraine Resources Page

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.

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 General of the International Catholic Migration Commission, talk about the Catholic Migration Commission’s role in the conflict, unique challenges facing Ukrainian migrants and how interfaith communities are rallying together to address the humanitarian issues at hand.

Resources

CHA’s Ukraine Resources Page

ICMC’s Ukraine Response Page

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.

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 Ministry Leadership Formation for Providence St. Joseph, discuss the hunger for formation in Catholic health care, the importance of making sure there are formators for the next generation and ways that formation leaders can adapt to a more virtual world.

 Resources

CHA’s Ministry Formation Resources Page

Health Progress article, "Providence Cultivates Leaders for Formation Throughout Organization: Building on Legacy So Mission Can Flourish"

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.

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.  

Related Health Progress article

Your Care Provider Can See You Now:  Pandemic Prompts New Approaches in Telehealth

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.