Catholic Health World - December 15, 2021 by Catholic Health Association

Chairperson’s Christmas message 2 Ministry’s holiday greetings 3-13

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Ministry providers aim to delight, honor employees this Christmastime Some facilities are reviving traditions put on hold in 2020 By JULIE MINDA

Ministry leaders are hoping that the fun and merrymaking of the holiday season will lift the spirits of pandemic-weary clinicians and staff. Chuck Prosper, chief executive of PeaceHealth’s Northwest Network, says, “These last 20 months have been incredibly challenging for our caregivers. They have given so much of themselves. We have worked closely with our spiritual care and human resources teams to support our caregivers in multiple ways, and we agreed this year that it’s more important than ever to find meaningful ways to connect with each other — safely — over the holidays.” He is among a sampling of ministry leaders who tell Catholic Health World that their desire is that the gifts, celebrations, feasts and frivolities — plus some well-deserved respite — will begin to rejuvenate employees who have been tested over the course of the pandemic. Prosper says, “There’s a return to traditions and renewed hope as we safely gather with friends and family. I think our caregivers, like many other frontline workers, are recognizing that COVID is likely to be with us for some time to come, but we can adapt Continued on 16

Preschool children at the Bon Secours Family Center at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, practice for their reenactment of the Christmas story. The pageant was open to hospital employees as part of the hospital’s Dec. 6 holiday lighting festivities.

Initiatives offer map as care providers work to build trust with underserved communities

Providence poet gives voice to COVID anguish By LISA EISENHAUER

By LISA EISENHAUER

Andie Daisley never thought of herself as a poet until the family of a patient lost to the pandemic asked her to help spread the word that “COVID is real.” As she ruminated on the request, Daisley says her thoughts took the form of verse and she wrote them down that way. The result is a stark and somber reflection about the sadness, rage and grief surrounding COVID-19 that she has witnessed and helped children cope with in her work as a child life specialist at Providence Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane, Washington. The hospital is part of the Providence St. Joseph Health system. “It wasn’t supposed to be a poem,” Daisley says. “It was just, I kept having these thoughts going back to my interaction with this particular family who really inspired the poem, but it became so much bigger than just that family.” At least in Spokane, the poem has given voice to the pain and suffering wrought by an ongoing crisis as well as to the trauma being endured and the compassion being shown by workers like Daisley who have Continued on 13

diocese of New York, to train the church’s Eucharistic ministers to spot signs of need as they resumed home visits in the Roman Catholic parish’s racially and economically diverse section of lower Manhattan. The visits had been on hold since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Those Eucharistic ministers, their priority is bringing the Eucharist to the person,” says Sr. Mary Anne Dennehy,

Even before the Association of American Medical Colleges officially launched its Center for Health Justice this fall, the staff of the nascent center was at work on an initiative focused on trust building through community engagement. Over the summer, the center’s team led virtual workshops built around 10 “Principles of Trustworthiness.” The center says the principles, along with accompanying videos and tool kit, “were co-developed by community stakeholders as a guiding compass for organizations from any sector to demonstrate trustworthiness to their communities.” Philip M. Alberti, senior director of health equity research and policy with the Association of AmeriAlberti can Medical Colleges, is founding director of the Center for Health Justice. He says that the association started its work around trust

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Ebelise Andujar and Michael Helck of ArchCare Managed Long Term Care program give Eucharistic ministers at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in New York City advice on how to spot potential need when bringing Holy Communion to those who are homebound.

ArchCare trains Eucharistic ministers to assess fragile seniors as home visits resume By LISA EISENHAUER

As Our Lady of Sorrows Church in New York City was preparing this fall to restart its program of offering the sacrament of Holy Communion to the homebound, its pastor was aware that many of those parishioners had been isolated for the better part of two years. With that in mind, he invited ArchCare, the continuing care community of the Arch-

CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD December 15, 2021

Approaching Christmas 2021 with love, sadness and hope By DR. RHONDA M. MEDOWS 2021–2022 Chairperson CHA Board of Trustees President of population health management Providence St. Joseph Health, Renton, Washington

hristmas has always been my favorite time of year because it’s about birth, family, giving and coming together. This seems especially important for Christmas Medows and the holidays this year. As I approach this Christmas and our holiday season traditions, I do so with love, sadness and hope. These may seem like very personal feelings to express in a professional publication shared with health

care leaders and business professionals. However, as such, we are importantly blessed to be members of healing ministries and therefore we are at a time where we must share all of ourselves to heal professionally and personally. Love, faith, hope and charity are core to our calling and charisms. I have and continue to grow my love for our caregivers, colleagues, and communities — people who individually and collectively met the tragedies and challenges of this pandemic, social and economic turmoil. People who together live the promise to care for our dear neighbors during unprecedented times. And I have sadness. This sadness is for those we have lost to illness, for lost time together, and for some beloved traditions now forever changed. Sadness, but not hopelessness or despair.

I have hope for the people living in our communities, those giving, and those receiving care in our health systems. I have hope for our leaders who demonstrate time and time again their ability to find a way through adversity and who truly create new paths forward somehow with a curious mixture of new age innovation and old reliable pragmatism. I share my family tradition of celebrat-

ing the birth of Jesus with my children just as many of you celebrate your own faith with your families. We will be missing several family members and friends from our table, but we will be together in spirit. This year when we read and reflect on the birth of Jesus, I will think of the telling of shepherds in the fields and of the wise men traveling great distances, following the Star of Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of our savior. Remember we too have a journey, and our faith is the bright star leading us. Our love, hope, commitment and compassion can be the gifts we bring. What will you bring? May you be filled with wisdom and the grace of God. Wishing you precious peace and love now and as we enter a new year.

Author says fostering empathetic culture in workplace is ‘ultimate win-win’ By LISA EISENHAUER

Being empathetic is not only good for humanity, it’s good for business in the view of author and brand strategist Maria Ross. “It’s the ultimate win-win,” said Ross, who shared her perspective during a webinar titled “You’re on Mute! — Fostering an Empathetic Culture in the Changing Workplace.” The webinar was part of CHA’s two-day Mission Leader Virtual Seminar in mid-November. Ross referenced research that she cites Ross her book The Empathy Edge: Harnessing the Value of Compassion as an Engine for Success and on her theempathyedge.com website in building her case that empathy makes the workplace better not only for workers, but also for customers, clients and patients. She had a revelation about the power of empathy during a long stay for treatment of and recovery from a ruptured brain aneurysm at Harborview Medical Center and UW Medical Center – Montlake in Seattle. The facilities are affiliated with the University of Washington School of Medicine. She said the hospital’s patient- and family-centered care philosophy incorporates practices, protocols and trainings that make patients and their loved ones feel seen and heard. Those practices start with “little things,” like having caregivers knock and announce themselves before entering patients’ rooms and addressing patients by their first names, and continue from there to keep the focus of care on the needs and desires of patients. “It was my first aha moment that you can create an empathetic organization and not just say a prayer and hope that you hired really nice people,” Ross said. She considers empathy key to creating a workplace where staff and clients are treated with kindness and respect. She defines empathy as “being willing and able to see, understand and, where appropriate, feel another person’s perspective and feelings and further use that understanding to act compassionately.” Ross pointed to studies that have shown empathy can spur innovation and productivity, boost engagement and collaboration and drive performance and profits. Among the studies she referenced was research done by Google on products it considers its most innovative. The company found that those products didn’t come from the teams whose members were “rock stars in computer science and technology,” Ross says, but rather from teams “that ranked higher in empathy, communication, compassion and the ability to collaborate.” Mary Anne Sladich-Lantz, senior vice president, mission and formation with Providence St. Joseph Health, was Ross’

A slide shared by author Maria Ross during her webinar on empathy for CHA cites results from a study by Catalyst, a nonprofit focused on improving the workplace for women. The slide compares the responses from the study of employees who viewed their leaders as empathetic (in red) to those who did not. The Catalyst study was released in September.

co-presenter in the webinar. She noted that incorporating empathy into the workplace aligns with Catholic health care practi–tioners’ “deep conviction of the sanctity of every single human life Sladich-Lantz as an expression of the divine in the world.”

Ross urged organizations to encourage — and care providers to adopt — three practices to promote empathy. They are: 1. Practice presence. Develop a daily mindfulness habit, such as deep breathing, knitting, avoiding screens, doing yoga or reading Bible verses to ground oneself and to make space for others’ points of view. 2. Be curious and actively listen. Three

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helpful tactics are: Ask (“Tell me more”), affirm (“What I hear you saying is …”) and enrich (say “Yes, and …” to build on what the other person is saying). 3. Find common ground. Do this by stating a shared goal out loud, discerning without judging and assuming good intent on the part of others. In the end, Ross said, the culture of an organization is what fosters and sustains empathy in a workplace. To develop that culture, she said, employers have to create practices built on values such as respect and inclusivity and then reward them. In doing that, she said, organizations tell employees: “This is what we deem important and this is how you succeed here.” Sladich-Lantz said rewarding workers who embrace and act on empathic practices is a way to celebrate people, which is something organizations should remember to do. “All of us want some sense of affirmation that who we are and how we are is recognized,” she said. leisenhauer@chausa.org

Catholic Health World (ISSN 87564068) is published semimonthly, except monthly in January, April, July and October and copyrighted © by the Catholic Health Association of the United States. POSTMASTER: Address all subscription orders, inquiries, address changes, etc., to Kim Hewitt, 4455 Woodson Road, St. Louis, MO 631343797; phone: 314-253-3421; email: khewitt@chausa.org. Periodicals postage rate is paid at St. Louis and additional mailing offices. Annual subscription rates: CHA members free, others $29 and foreign $29. Opinions, quotes and views appearing in Catholic Health World do not necessarily reflect those of CHA and do not represent an endorsement by CHA. Acceptance of advertising for publication does not constitute approval or endorse ment by the publication or CHA. All advertising is subject to review before acceptance. Vice President Communications and Marketing Brian P. Reardon

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December 15, 2021 CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, what we shall be has not yet been revealed.” 1 JOHN 3:2

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year The Catholic Health Association of the United States Lara Akpata Ann Alvers Liwäy Arceo Lori Ashmore-Ruppel Kyle Belobrajdic Trevor Bodewitz Paula Bommarito Fr. Charles Bouchard Kathleen Bourgeois Cara Brouder Leslie Brown Janey Brummett Sandy Buttery Tony Cable M. Laurie Cammisa Loren Chandler Bruce Compton Betty Crosby Kimberly Crossman Kathy Curran Janet Dunahue Lisa Eisenhauer Chris Fields Adele Gianino Dennis Gonzales Sr. Mary Haddad Tracie Heck Rebecca Heermann David Hein Denise Hess Kim Hewitt Nathaniel Hibner Brenda Hudson Katie Hurley Brian Kane Charlotte Kelley Karla Keppel Cheryl Mance Dottie Martin Andre Mayne Ken Mayo Crystal Mendez Julie Minda Debbie Morrow Sharon Novak Clay O’Dell Michele Oranski Nick Osterholt Paulo Pontemayor Kevin Prior Brian Reardon Katrina Reid Diarmuid Rooney Ken Schanuel Ellen Schlanker Cherie Schroeder Brian Smith Lisa Smith Indu Spugnardi Les Stock Lucas Swanepoel Betsy Taylor Danette Thompson Julie Trocchio Sheryl Ullrich Kim Van Oosten Judy VandeWater Dee Walsh Anna Weston

CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD December 15, 2021

We wish you a

Christmas Season of Love and Light, ﬁlled with the spirit and compassion of Jesus Christ whose birth we celebrate.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given – Isaiah 9:5

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Wishing you peace, love and hope this

SEASON.

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hope THE STAR OF

May the miracle of Christmas shine brightly upon you.

Joy

Together, we rejoice in the birth of our Lord Jesus and celebrate the promise of the new year. May He bless you and your loved ones with peace, hope and health this holy season.

benedictineliving.org Vibrant senior living communities where health, wellness and choice come to life.

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December 15, 2021 CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD

Fostering healing and hope in our communities and our world

Behold, I will bring health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. Jeremiah 33:6

Prayers for healing and hope this Christmas season and throughout the year. Across 19 states and the District of Columbia, our care teams, subsidiaries and families are grateful to be part of a vibrant Catholic healthcare community, dedicated to being advocates for a compassionate and just society through our actions and words. © Ascension 2021. All rights reserved.

CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD December 15, 2021

Wishing you and your family the gifts of

this holiday season and throughout the new year.

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December 15, 2021 CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD

May we all share peace and blessings in our celebrations this season and a new year filled with health and happiness.

Our Regional Health Ministries Allegany Franciscan Ministries, Florida

Saint Alphonsus Health System, Idaho/Oregon

Global Health Ministry, International

Saint Joseph Health System, Indiana

Holy Cross Health, Florida

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, Michigan

Holy Cross Health, Maryland

St. Joseph’s Health, New York

Loyola Medicine, Illinois

St. Mary’s Health Care System, Georgia

Mercy Care, Georgia

St. Peter’s Health Partners, New York

Mercy Health, Michigan

Trinity Health At Home, National

MercyOne, Iowa/Nebraska/South Dakota

Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, Pennsylvania/Delaware

Mount Carmel Health System, Ohio

Trinity Health Of New England, Connecticut/Massachusetts

Pittsburgh Mercy, Pennsylvania

Trinity Health PACE, National

Saint Agnes Medical Center, California

Trinity Health Senior Communities, National

CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD December 15, 2021

nd His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:6

mercy.net

December 15, 2021 CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace...” — Romans 15:13 NRSV

During this Christmas and holiday season, may an abiding sense of peace and community be upon you. Remembering that God’s goodness and grace abounds, we celebrate the gift of God’s light and healing presence in our world.

CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD December 15, 2021

All is

Calm Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for you are my praise.

May the light of the season shine brightly on you.

Jeremiah 17:14

He shall take his place as shepherd by the strength of the LORD, by the majestic name of the LORD, his God; And they shall dwell securely, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth: he shall be peace.

As we continue our Mission of hope and healing, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a joyous, healthy New Year.

— Micah 5:3-4

MERRY

CHRISTUShealth.org

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December 15, 2021 CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD

Life, blessed.

Family. A word of many meanings. Dear relatives. A group of friends. Even a dedicated community of caregivers. In the spirit of this Holy season, may your life and those of your loved ones be graced with peace, wonder and light.

Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, goodwill to humankind. LUKE 2:14

We see the life in you. Providence.org

At Providence St. Joseph Health, we use our voice to advocate for vulnerable populations and needed reforms in health care. Together, our 120,000 caregivers serve in 52 hospitals, 1,085 clinics and a vast spectrum of health and social services across Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington. As a comprehensive health care organization, we are serving more people, advancing best practices, and continuing our more than 100-year tradition of serving the poor and vulnerable. Providence St. Joseph Health is committed to touching millions of more lives and enhancing the health of the American West to transform care for the next generation and beyond.

CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD December 15, 2021

Mercy Health – Cincinnati served logo-embellished cookies to guests at its Oct. 29 ceremonial groundbreaking for its new hospital in Mason, Ohio.

Mercy Health to build sixth Cincinnati-area hospital Mercy Health – Cincinnati is building a $200 million, 60-bed hospital in Mason, Ohio, a city of about 34,700 people approximately 22 miles northeast of downtown Cincinnati. Mercy Health Kings Mills Hospital will be Mercy Health’s sixth Cincinnatiarea hospital. Mercy Health is part of Bon Secours Mercy Health. Mercy Health broke ground on the new hospital Oct. 29. The facility is to open in late

2023 with about 200 full-time staff. The hospital will have a 15-bed emergency department, and it will offer cardiac services, and orthopedic and other surgical services. A medical office building to be built next to the hospital will house specialists in cardiology, pulmonology, general surgery, gynecology, gastroenterology, and vascular medicine.

Merry

Blessings of

PEACE this Christmas

Ephesians 4:2

With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.

May the spirit of the season surround you. And may health, happiness, love and peace be yours in the New Year. Caring for our Communities in Minnesota, North Dakota & Wisconsin Today, the work of our founding Benedictine Sisters lives on, thanks to the physicians and staff providing care in these Catholic facilities: Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center, St. Mary’s-Detroit Lakes, St. Joseph’s Medical Center, St. Mary’s Medical Center, Holy Trinity Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital-Superior and Midwest Medical Equipment & Supplies.

December 15, 2021 CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD

Providence poet

do,” she says. Now they know that child life specialists hold hands with children and help them navigate the abject sorrow and raw emotion unleashed during the worst moments of their young lives. They counsel adults on age-appropriate ways to share heartbreaking news with kids and guide them through their grief. In addition to affirmation from colleagues, Daisley has gotten notes from families saying her poem gave voice to their grief. “I was completely overwhelmed by the love and support that I was shown. And it was more healing and cathartic even for me in this work than I could have anticipated.”

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provided care and counsel to its victims for months.

Delicate balance She initially didn’t give her work a name, but she’s come to refer to it as “10.19.21,” a nod to the day she tapped the poem out on her phone. That was shortly after she was summoned from her usual evening post in the hospital’s emergency room to the intensive care unit to counsel the young child of a COVID patient whose death was imminent. Daisley says that wasn’t her first time being next to a child at the bedside of a dying parent. It was, however, the first time the family asked her afterward to speak out about the misery the pandemic was inflicting on people like them. As her thoughts were taking shape, Daisley was mindful that if she was going to share them in some form, she needed to strike a delicate balance. She couldn’t give away too many details about the specific interaction that inspired her, yet she wanted to relate the personal devastation of losing a loved one to COVID. She says she thinks using verse allowed her to stay in that middle ground.

Andie Daisley has been a child life specialist at Providence Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital since 2018. A poem she wrote about a helping a child cope with the grief of losing a parent to COVID-19 has been lauded by her colleagues and community.

“It just felt like I can talk about this story and I can talk about the stories of so many that I have witnessed myself or heard about while still preserving the dignity and

May we be in this world a ray of that light which shone forth from Bethlehem, bringing joy and peace to the hearts of all. — Pope Francis

privacy of these families,” she says.

Audience builds After Daisley shared her poem with her family and friends on social media, a relative sent it to a friend at The Spokesman– Review. A reporter at the newspaper soon called for an interview. That report, posted Oct. 26, included the text of the poem and it led to coverage from Spokane Public Radio, the city’s National Public Radio affiliate. Daisley also read the poem during a town hall meeting for Providence staffers in the Spokane market. “I felt so much support from my colleagues of all sorts of disciplines and people have been writing to me since,” she says. In addition to honoring the family’s request that she speak out about the reality of COVID, the poem has shed light on the role she and her fellow child life specialists play that even her family and friends were in the dark on, Daisley says. “So many people who I know and love didn’t even really have an idea or a context for the work that I

10.19.21

This tube does this, that tube does that. He’ll look different than before. You can walk up close. You can stay far away. You can change your mind. I’m here with you. Say the word. You can always change your mind. “Will he hear me?” — He might. “Will he answer me?” — He won’t.

shine in your heart and light your path.

Merry Christmas FRANCISCAN MINISTRIES Sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago

www.franciscanministries.org

leisenhauer@chausa.org

By ANDIE DAISLEY

How do you prepare a child to see their parent for the last time?

May the true spirit of Christmas

Writing as self-therapy Daisley initially referred to her piece as her first poem. But it prompted her to look back on reflections she has saved in her phone and she’s realized that they have a poetic tone, too. And now that she’s had one of her pieces published and lauded, she expects to write more and use writing intentionally as a form of self-therapy. Despite the anguish she has witnessed in her job, especially during the pandemic, Daisley says she has never felt more committed to her work. “It’s such an honor to be invited into the (lives) of kids and families, especially when they’re in such life-changing, devastating moments,” she says. “It’s a very sacred and beautiful space to be in with them.” After almost two years and more than 780,000 deaths, Daisley doubts that there is anyone in the United States who remains unmoved by the pandemic. If there are and they read her poem, she hopes it awakens empathy. “On the one hand, I guess, I am thankful that they haven’t had to experience this firsthand to have their own personal story about it. And on the other hand, I just really want people to realize that this has devastated families and communities and that it still is.”

I watch through a window as you wail. I know this wail. It’s THE wail. It’s the wail of understanding that what has been, will never be again. That once was, is no longer. Heaving shoulders. Clenched fists. Trembling. I wish I could take it away. I wish I could turn back your clock. My clock. Our clock. The world clock. I wish I could heal you with my thoughts, but instead I’ll just keep thinking them. I’m so sorry, young one. I’m so sorry you’re here. You shouldn’t be here. We shouldn’t be here. Why are we here? “I’ll miss you, dad. Don’t forget us. I love you.” Heaving shoulders. Clenched fists. Trembling.

We practically ran back to the waiting room. You did run, when we got there. Out the door. Outside. Into the night. I don’t blame you. Anything to be out of that space. That space made of broken hearts and dying breaths. Of chimes and tangled cords, all saying the same thing — this is it. Run, weary soul. Run. Run into the fresh air. Let the chill hit your face. The sadness will follow, but don’t let that stop you. You won’t outrun the waves, but you can keep pace. Run. Heaving shoulders. Clenched fists. Trembling. “How else can I support you tonight?” I ask your family. “Just tell everyone that Covid is real,” they say. “I promise.” Heaving shoulders. Clenched fists. Trembling. Deep breaths. Count to three. Dry your eyes. Walk it off. Another ticking clock awaits.

CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD December 15, 2021

Eucharistic ministers

“The Eucharistic ministers really can’t do it all — they can’t solve all the problems — but we just wanted to let them know that there are resources available to help them,” she says. “So, if they felt that that person was being neglected or not properly cared for, they should definitely report something like that to someone who could look into it.”

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O CARM, a registered nurse and ArchCare’s parish outreach representative. “But in that encounter, they may assess the fact that the person has a medical or a nursing need that isn’t met.” Sr. Dennehy and four others from the agency set up a two-hour training session on Nov. 6 at the church. It drew about 30 Eucharistic ministers. “I was so impressed that these people came out on a Saturday afterSr. Dennehy noon and with their dedication to what they are doing,” Sr. Dennehy says. “That made me want to do more and more for that parish.”

Serving as ‘eyes and ears’ Damaris Saliva, one of the Eucharistic ministers who took part in the training, says she thinks it prepared her well to become “the eyes and ears” for the parish as she visits fellow congregants who can’t Saliva leave their homes or who are isolating while COVID remains a threat. “I think it’s a wonderful idea that this is happening,” says Saliva, the church’s coordinator of religious education for parents. “It goes beyond just bringing the body of Christ. It’s about caring more about the person.” Ministers who see unmet needs on their visits are going to pass their observations on to group leaders among the ministers or the church’s pastor, says Fr. Thomas McNamara, OFM Cap., who will contact ArchCare. Sr. Dennehy explains, “and we can get the proper people in there to do an evaluation.” As part of the training, the ArchCare instructors shared information on services the agency offers including at-home care and its Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, PACE. The services are available at different levels among the 10 counties in the archdiocese, including in the section of Manhattan where Our Lady of Sorrows is located. Organizers of Our Lady of Sorrows’ Eucharistic ministry were assessing requests for Holy Communion visits and figuring out assignments in mid-November. Sr. Dennehy already had gotten one referral regarding a parishioner. She was working with Catholic Charities to arrange assistance. Do’s and don’ts The training session at Our Lady of Sorrows was the first for ArchCare since the pandemic put many church outreach

Robert Anderson from ArchCare’s Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly hands out information about the program to parishioners between services at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in New York City.

Maleka Sanderson, a nurse practitioner, greets Norma Reyas in the clinic at the ArchCare Senior Life Harlem PACE Center in New York. The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly is one of many that ArchCare offers within the Archdiocese of New York.

programs on hold and forced health care providers to alter their practices to stem the virus’ spread. The training of Eucharistic minsters to watch for signs of concern at homes they visited was initiated by Michael Helck, vice president of ArchCare Community Life. Michael Guglielmo, the agency’s director of parish integration, says it condensed the training it did at Our Guglielmo Lady of Sorrows from material that it had used pre-pandemic at events for Eucharistic ministers or pastoral visitors from multiple parishes. ArchCare revised the material with COVID protocols in mind.

The training material includes a list of things for the ministers to look and listen for during their home visits, such as any significant changes from the last visit and complaints of pain. The session also covered do’s and don’ts for the visits. The do’s include giving the parishioner a chance to express himself or herself and showing compassion. ArchCare provided the training and handouts for the ministers in English and Spanish, the first language of many of Our Lady of Sorrows’ parishioners. The trainers gave their audience time to ask questions. Saliva asked why the ministers should connect their fellow parishioners with ArchCare, as opposed to other health care agencies. She says she was happy with Guglielmo’s answer that not only is ArchCare a Catholic agency but that its focus is on seeing that the elderly in the archdiocese get appropriate care. “The people we can help with our services at ArchCare are many times the people we don’t see because they’re not out in the community,” Guglielmo says. “But we know that our good Eucharistic ministers and pastoral visitors of the sick are seeing these folks.” Sr. Dennehy says another minister mentioned having seen, on past visits to homes, health care aides watching television or doing other things generally not in keeping with their work. The minister wanted to know what to do in such cases. Sr. Dennehy says the question reflected how observant the ministers are when visiting homes. It also gave the ArchCare trainers the opportunity to advise the volunteers to be aware not only of their fellow parishioners’ safety but also of privacy issues and confidentiality when they are in a home.

ArchCare shares guidance for home visits Cutline

rchCare, the long-term care system for the Archdiocese of New York, developed these tips as part of its training for Eucharistic ministers and other parish visitors who are returning to homes as pandemic protocols ease. The goal of the training is to help the ministers spot potential needs among the homebound and report their observations to others who can help connect those parishioners to services.

What to look for/note when making a home visit Any significant changes from last visit Difficulties in walking and self-care Does the person have the appropriate medical equipment Changes in ability to communicate or increased forgetfulness

Complaints of pain Feelings of isolation or despair Obvious weight loss with no food in the house How does the home look and smell Any loss in support from family, friends or community Any difficulty in traveling to medical appointments Any recent hospitalizations or emergency room visits Any difficulty managing or obtaining medications

How to be during a visit Do Be confident in your ministry, be yourself Be observant, notice need Be aware of cultural differences Assure confidentiality

Allow the person time to express him/herself Show compassion Allow and affirm venting Offer support, empathy and a peaceful presence Share the Gospel Reach out to others in the home when appropriate for information on the homebound communicant Don’t Argue, or take sides Try to fix the situation Interject your unwanted opinions Play the counselor Have preconceived notions of the person or situation Be nosey Be overly reserved Visit if you are not feeling well

Keep in touch While the Eucharistic minister training at Our Lady of Sorrows was a one-day event, the partnership between the church and ArchCare will continue. “Probably in January we’re going to come back to the parish and do a check-in and say, ‘What other training is needed? What else do you need? What did you find out?’ and then keep that going,” Guglielmo says. The day after the training session, ArchCare staffers returned to Our Lady of Sorrows to visit with parishioners who attended the Sunday Masses. They set up an information table with brochures about the agency’s services and offered blood pressure and glucose screenings, advising those whose results were concerning. The visit was ArchCare’s first step toward resuming such in-person outreach efforts, which had been sidelined by the pandemic. “It really is a great opportunity to do some one-to-one and give people some good insight into their own health without making any prognosis,” Guglielmo explains. Given the reception the ArchCare team got at Our Lady of Sorrows, Guglielmo and Sr. Dennehy are looking ahead to working with other parishes as pandemic protocols ease. “Our parish integration program has always been to say: What are your needs? How can we help you?” Guglielmo says. leisenhauer@chausa.org

KEEPING UP

Driscoll

Hathaway

PRESIDENTS AND CEOS Organizations within Providence St. Joseph Health have made these changes: Laureen Driscoll to chief executive of Providence’s Northern California region, effective Jan. 17. She currently is president of MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital and MultiCare Allenmore Hospital and is the West Pierce and Kitsap market leader for MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, Washington. Providence’s Northern California region includes six hospitals: Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Petaluma Valley Hospital, Healdsburg Hospital, Queen of the Valley Medical Center, and St. Joseph Hospital and Redwood Memorial Hospital. Susan Stacey to chief executive for Providence’s Inland Northwest Washington service area. Stacey currently is chief operating officer and chief nursing officer for Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital in Spokane, Washington. She replaces Peg Currie, who is retiring, effective at the end of January. Ed Oley plans to retire Jan. 1 as president of the Mercy Health – Lorain Market in Ohio. Mercy Health is part of Bon Secours Mercy Health.

ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGE Tom Hathaway to vice president of operations of Holy Cross Medical Group, a multispecialty physician employed group that is affiliated with Holy Cross Health of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Holy Cross is part of Trinity Health.

December 15, 2021 CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD

Trust building

essential organizing principle for improving health care.” The initiative includes a collection of resources, a series of webinars and the awarding of grants for work that creates “a more trustworthy health system that serves everyone.” Among the early collaborators in the initiative are SSM Health and Virginia Mason Medical Center, part of CommonSpirit Health.

From page 1

a few years ago when engagement with underserved communities showed fault lines between them and the health care sector. People within those communities pointed to various reasons for the disconnect, including historic wrongs such as the syphilis experiments done in Tuskegee, Alabama, that left Black men to die of a curable disease. Those communities also pointed toward insensitivity that they and others have experienced related to cultural traditions and practices. Alberti says the issue of lack of trust in mainstream medicine by medically underserved populations gained a stronger sense of urgency as the COVID-19 pandemic began taking a disproportionate toll on minority communities and as outrage grew about the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police. “We didn’t even have to look historically. We watched inequities develop in real time over the last 18 months,” he says. “It’s not just about Tuskegee. This is about modernday experience of inequity creation before our very eyes.”

Elevating trust The Center for Health Justice isn’t the only health care-related group that has zeroed in on the issue of trust this year. In May, the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation began its Building Trust initiative.

Dr. Susan J. Dulkerian, chair of the department of pediatrics, attends to an infant in the neonatal intensive care unit at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. Mercy traces its roots in downtown Baltimore to the 1870s. It delivers the most babies of any Baltimore hospital.

Dr. Richard Baron, president and chief executive of the American Board of Internal Medicine and its foundation, says in an interview with MedPage Today that his organization’s effort was prompted in part by a “major politicization of knowledge” around things like the safety of COVID vaccines and the usefulness of masking. “We really are living in a world in which facts themselves — the whole existence of facts — is in dispute,” Baron says in the interview. The foundation describes its trust initiative as a “multifaceted effort to increase conversation, thought leadership, research and best practices to elevate trust as an

Foundations of Catholic Health Care Leadership 2022 CHA’s Online Foundations engages new and current leaders of Catholic health organizations in a highly interactive learning experience about core principles of Catholic health care and how they apply to our work. CONVENIENT ONLINE SCHEDULE ✦ Series of online sessions on eight consecutive Thursdays, Feb. 3 – March 24, 1–3:30 p.m. ET ✦ Orientation, Feb. 1, 1–2 p.m. ET TOPICS ✦ Vocation of Leadership and Jesus the Foundation of the Catholic Health Ministry ✦ Spirituality and Whole Person Care ✦ Catholic Social Tradition ✦ Catholic Social Tradition in Action ✦ Ethics and ERDs ✦ Models of the Church and Sponsorship Today ✦ Stewarding Organizational Culture in the Catholic Tradition ✦ Discernment, Ongoing Formation and Integration WHO BENEFITS ✦ Perfect formation and development opportunity for individuals or groups of participants in the same location/facility. ✦ New sponsor members, board members, senior executives, physicians, clinicians, middle managers, ethicists, ethics committees, advocacy and community benefit professionals and others! REGISTER TODAY CHAUSA.ORG/ONLINEFOUNDATIONS To learn more, contact Diarmuid Rooney, CHA Senior Director, Ministry Formation, at drooney@chausa.org or 314-253-3465.

Diversity of thought Yolonda Wilson, an associate professor at the Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics at Saint Louis University, says whether such initiatives can succeed at breaking down barriers between Wilson communities and health care providers likely depends on whether those communities are part of the process from the get-go. “What I don’t think you can do is have a one-size-fits-all approach to just anybody who you think doesn’t trust the health care system,” she says. Communities and individuals have motivations and justifications for their behavior, including historical or current injustices and cultural differences, Wilson says, and those factors need to be taken seriously and addressed by health care providers. “I think it’s worth digging in and exploring what exactly is happening and figuring out whether trust is even the right way to describe what’s happening,” she adds. In a recent discussion, Wilson and Nathaniel Blanton Hibner, director of ethics for CHA, agreed that the burden of building trust should not fall on individuals or communities. “It’s not that we need to change their behavior towards us Hibner alone,” Hibner explains. “We need to change medical behavior towards those communities.” Flipping the narrative Wilson and Hibner also agree that the key to establishing a trusting relationship is not just talking about what needs to be done, but following through. The question to be asked, Hibner says, is: “Are we actually doing it —I’m not saying are we getting the results that we necessarily are hoping for — but are we actually walking the walk?” One of the Center for Health Justice’s 10 Principles of Trustworthiness — Without action, your organizational pledge is only performance — specifically calls on organizations to “walk the walk” by deploying resources, coordinating the work of building trust across their workforce and recognizing that trust building is not a oneperson job. In Alberti’s view, one of the distinguishing aspects of the Center for Health Justice’s initiative is that its flips what he calls a popular narrative, that is, that institutions need Association of American Medical Colleges Principles of Trustworthiness 1. The community is already educated; that’s why it doesn’t trust you. 2. You are not the only experts. 3. Without action, your organizational pledge is only performance. 4. An office of community engagement is insufficient. 5. It doesn’t start or end with a community advisory board. 6. Diversity is more than skin deep. 7. There’s more than one gay bar, one “Black church,” and one bodega in your community. 8. Show your work. 9. If you’re gonna do it, take your time, do it right. 10. The project may be over, but the work is not.

to figure out how to convince communities or populations to trust them. “We thought it was important to change that paradigm and say, it’s not about building trust or convincing folks to trust, it’s really about showing that we are worthy of trust,” he explains. Alberti says the Center for Health Justice is basing its overall work on a few pillars. One is that community engagement is key to ensuring that its efforts are grounded in “the wisdom of communities.” Another is that collaborations must reach beyond the health care sector so that factors that affect health outcomes and life spans such as education and food access are taken into account. One more pillar is advocating for policy development and policy changes that address injustices and inequities.

Integrating teachings Mina Kini hopes to integrate the center’s teachings and its trustworthiness principles into her work as system director, diversity and inclusion at SSM Health. She attended one of the center’s virtual workshops over the summer. Kini Kini says SSM Health recognizes the importance of having trusting relationships with its patients and communities. “Without addressing trust of communities, we will never be able to solve disparities,” she says. SSM Health already is working to develop and expand programs and policies to improve relationships with communities that are often slighted by the health care sector. She points to its support for CHA’s We Are Called initiative to promote racial justice and address disparities. She also cites a partnership the health system has with organizations in Missouri and Wisconsin to provide job opportunities to people who have disabilities that often keep them out of the workforce. “It’s not only being aware of those principles of trust but living the behaviors that is an underpinning to all these principles,” she says. “There are strategies and behaviors that need to occur for this to be realized.” Sustained credibility Fr. Tom Malia, assistant to the president for mission at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, believes trust is inherent to the work of the Catholic health ministry. He says trust is best fostered through commitment and service, as his hospital has demonstrated by staying put in the heart of a city that has seen racial, economic and other challenges over the Fr. Malia last several decades and serving the community living there. Fr. Malia believes trust between Mercy Medical Center and its community is manifest in many ways. Among them is the hospital’s growth in his 19 years there — to 5,278 from 2,000 employees. It operates care sites and affiliated offices across the Baltimore region. It’s a measure of trust that Mercy delivers more babies than any other hospital in the city, he says. And, Mercy has collaborated with other organizations to address social issues that impact health status and well-being. For example, Fr. Malia notes that hospital executives were involved in the creation of Health Care for the Homeless, an organization founded in the 1980s that provides medical and support services for the unsheltered including assistance in securing housing and public benefits. When it comes to trust, he says Mercy’s is built on unwavering support for and connections to its community. Says Fr. Malia: “The credibility is still here. It’s always been here.” leisenhauer@chausa.org

CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD December 15, 2021

Christmas traditions From page 1

to celebrate the holiday season.” Like numerous other ministry facilities, PeaceHealth Northwest sites are taking COVID precautions as they resume some of their holiday traditions and add some new ones.

Deck the halls Deacon Paul Lim, vice president of mission integration and administration at Wheeling Hospital, West Virginia, says the campus was very locked down and visitation heavily restricted last Christmas, but this year there are far fewer restrictions and many more visitors coming and going. He hopes the holiday bustle and trappings will bring joy to employees. (See sidebar.) All around the ministry in late November and early December, staff and volun- As part of the 36th annual Bon Secours St. Francis Festival of Trees in Greenville, South Carolina, teams teers were festooning facilities with Christ- decorate Christmas trees in three hotels, including the Hyatt Regency Greenville shown here. Tree sponsorships generate money for the Bon Secours St. Francis Foundation. mas trees, wreaths, garland and lights. In addition to comhalted or scaled back significantly last year, peting in tree decorating but many facilities are reviving elements contests, employees at of their pre-pandemic lighting traditions HSHS St. John’s Hospital this year. A few are limiting the festivities to in Springfield, Illinois, employees and their guests. are decking themselves Bon Secours, part of the Bon Secours out for “Festive FriMercy Health system, traditionally hosts day” celebrations this “Grand Illumination” lighting festivals at month, sporting Christsites around Richmond, Virginia. Last year, mas sweaters, socks and Bon Secours Richmond hospitals pared accessories. such events back considerably, including Employees of Peaceby barring or significantly limiting public At Christmas, staff and family members of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Health St. Joseph Mediparticipation. This year, they brought back Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, take part in a reenactment of cal Center in Bellingelements of past celebrations, including a the birth of Jesus. The performance is usually outdoors with live animals. ham, Washington, are pageant featuring employees’ children, taibringing in ornaments Because of COVID-19 precautions, it was virtual last year and again this and other decorations season. The hospital recorded the nativity and a performance by its loring the events for employees. that represent their own hospital choir for online viewing. Drew Burrichter is vice president of miscultural heritage or trasion for Bon Secours’ Richmond market. He ditions. The hospital is displaying the trea- for both education and celebration of the says St. Mary’s Christdifferent traditions around Christmas and sures along with description cards in glass other winter holidays.” cases outside its gift shop. mas pageant and serPeaceHealth’s Prosper says, “I want this vice Dec. 6 included year’s festivities to reflect and honor the All aglow a performance of the diversity of our workforce. We have people Christmas story by children who attend the Facilities across the ministry set their of many religions, ethnicities and cultures buildings and grounds aglow for the holi- hospital’s on-site day care center. The kids working together — Latinx, Filipino, Ukrai- days. Before COVID, many welcomed flip a symbolic “On” switch as the building nian, Russian, East Asian, to name a few — the community to campus lighting cel- engineers light up the campus. “At the end of the day, we just really and I want to be sure there’s an opportunity ebrations. Those large gatherings had to be need this — to continue to celebrate with each other,” says Beth Keehn, director of government and community relations for Mercy Health – St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima, Ohio, which also held a tree lighting ceremony.

Ministry eldercare facilities anticipate a much merrier holiday this year H

oliday carols, Christmas Masses, gingerbread house decorating, brunches, and more — the Stella Maris eldercare community in Timonium, Maryland, has quite the Christmas season underway for its 500-plus residents and approximately 750 staff. And, why not? While the facility had gone to great lengths to make last year’s holiday season meaningful for residents, the extensive visitor restrictions, social distancing requirements and other COVID-19 protocols made Christmas 2020 a more solitary, lonesome affair for some residents. Crystal Hickey, executive director of Stella Maris, says, with vaccination rates of residents, staff and families increasing, the eldercare facility’s mission committee and programming and activities staff have put together a classical Christmas that would set Bing Crosby a crooning. Activities include Advent liturgies, Christmas carol sing-alongs with visiting musicians and movie nights featuring Christmas classics. The campus, sponsored by Baltimore-based Mercy Medical Center, includes both independent living and long-term care “neighborhoods.” Hickey says, “The biggest difference between the holidays last year and this year is simple: With visitation restrictions lifted, our families can come and visit their loved one whenever they want to, and for however long they want to, which will make a really big difference in the lives of our residents.” About 300 miles northwest of Timonium, another Catholic eldercare community is welcoming family and friends for Christmas fun — with only very limited restrictions, such as masking and temperature checks. The residents of the Continuous Care Center of Wheeling Hospital in Wheeling, West Virginia, are able to leave with their loved ones for off-campus celebrations. Last year, residents had to make do with short, staff-monitored visits with just one or two loved ones at a time in their rooms. Recently, restrictions were eased — loved ones now can visit residents without a reservation and without staff monitors. “With these changes so far, life around the Continuous Care Center feels different,” says Deacon Paul Lim. “I think they feel more free to celebrate the holidays. Our employees love seeing our residents more free to see their families.” Deacon Lim is vice president of mission integration and administration at Wheeling Hospital. The hospital operates the eldercare campus. Deacon Lim adds that residents are very eager to be able to touch the people they love during the holidays this year, and that sweet anticipation is an early gift of the season. — JULIE MINDA

Christmas pudding In late November, Mercy Health – St. Vincent Medical Center and Children’s Hospital in Toledo, Ohio, was planning its annual Christmas meal for employees, set for Dec. 14, 15 and 16. Last year, says hospital President Jeffrey Dempsey, the hospital had to have “grab and go” Christmas meals for employees. This year the culinary staff is serving the meal in the hospital cafeteria, where there will be limited seating avail-

able, or employees can choose to take the meal back to their unit and dine together. Dempsey says, “All of us are striving for normalcy and bonding, and we want to celebrate this special holiday of Christmas with others. The isolation (of the pandemic) has been very hard on people, and so we want to bring back the camaraderie, and reconnect those relationships. Christmas is all the more special when we can spend it with others.”

Community-building Wheeling Hospital’s Deacon Lim says having a meaningful Christmas 2021 is very important for hospital staff in part because they are exhausted from the strain of the pandemic — including grueling hours, staff shortages and extra stress. Plus, there has been such a high turnover in nursing staff that many nursing units look much different than last year, with some long-timers and many new faces. Deacon Lim says some downtime enjoying Christmas celebrations together will give the nurses a chance to build relationships and gel as a team. PeaceHealth’s Prosper says he has great expectations for this Christmas season. “I hope our facilities will feel comforting, peaceful and cheerful. I hope all of our caregivers will feel supported by us and each other, and comfortable in celebrating and

Taylor Murray shows off ornaments she had a hand in creating for the Bon Secours St. Francis Festival of Trees in Greenville, South Carolina. Taylor and other first year members of the Junior League of Greenville made ornaments for the fundraising event and the Junior League decorated a tree.

sharing their own cultural traditions. “I hope each of us will have time to breathe, rest and reflect, and celebrate in unique and meaningful ways with each other, as well as our families and loved ones,” he says. Visit chausa.org/chworld for more Christmas coverage. jminda@chausa.org

A crèche in the chapel of Stella Maris, an eldercare campus in Timonium, Maryland.