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

Earthquake relief efforts 2 Refined senior living 3 Executive changes 7 PERIODICAL RATE PUBLICATION

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 VOLUME 37, NUMBER 15

Pediatricians address parents’ fears about COVID vaccines for kids By JULIE MINDA

Arin Cuvala celebrates after getting her first COVID-19 vaccine dose at Saint Alphonsus Health System in Boise, Idaho. Arin is 12, and a seventh grader at Lewis and Clark Middle School in Meridian, Idaho. She got the vaccine within the first week of eligibility and said she is excited to keep herself, her family and friends safe from COVID-19.

As of Aug. 31, 47% of people aged 12-17 had been partially or fully inoculated against COVID-19 — the lowest percentage of any age group eligible for vaccination, according to data analysis from The Washington Post. Surveying reported Aug. 11 by the Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that 23% of parents of kids in this age range want to wait to see how the COVID vaccines are working before inoculating their kids, 9% say they’ll only vaccinate them if mandated to do so and 20% say they will definitely not vaccinate their kids against COVID. Dr. Sreeramya Kanumilli, a pediatrician with the Facey Medical Group in Burbank, California, says, “With the delta variant of COVID being much more transmissible to

Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation

By JULIE MINDA

Thuyvan Nguye, a food service “ambassador” with Avera Health, delivers a meal. The system in May boosted its minimum wage to $15.

Kersten says she found that curious, considering that what happened to all of them was a burn injury serious enough to require treatment and maybe even a long hospitalization and rehab. “It was very impactful for me because how do you understand that, not having Continued on 8

Continued on 7

Growing stronger together at burn camp Melissa Kersten remembers when, early in her time as a counselor at what is known as Burn Camp in Wisconsin, she overheard a group of girls chatting. One of them said: “I would never change what happened to me for anything” and the others agreed.

Executives at several Catholic health systems that have raised their minimum wages to $15 an hour in recent months say the

move was driven by a desire to provide all workers a living wage as well as by the tight labor market. Avera Health shifted to the higher minimum wage for all full- and part-time workers in May. The boost came just six months after the system raised its minimum wage to $14 and just a year and a half after it bumped the wage to $13. Kim Jensen, Avera’s chief human resources officer, noted that the system has approved the boosts even as the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 since 2009. In South Dakota, where Avera has its largest presence, the minimum wage has risen only to $9.45, despite being tied to increases in the cost of living. “We said we need to have an Avera minimum,” Jensen said. “It doesn’t matter what

Campers wait to be matched with a horse for a ride at the Summer Camp for Burn Injured Youth in August at Camp Timber-lee in East Troy, Wisconsin. The annual event is produced by the Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation. It gets support from Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Regional Burn Center and Outpatient Clinic in Milwaukee.

By LISA EISENHAUER

Continued on 4

Young students and seniors shine in St. Vincent Foster Grandparent Program Colleen Stiles, 78, was as excited as a schoolgirl last month when the kids returned to the elementary school classroom in Billings, MonSCL HEALTH tana, where she works with children who need a boost with academic or developmental skills. She is one of the two dozen-plus mentors who St. Vincent Healthcare of Billings

Wages rise for workers on lowest pay rungs at many Catholic systems

As climate threat worsens, CHA, members amp up environmental efforts

Colleen Stiles, a foster grandparent in a fourthgrade classroom at Orchard Elementary School in Billings, Montana, aids a student during the first day of the school year. St. Vincent Healthcare of Billings provides schools with foster grandparents to help struggling students.

is providing to area school districts through its AmeriCorps Senior Foster Grandparent Program. Demand for foster grandparents exceeds supply, so the health system hopes to hire and dispatch at least a dozen more of these classroom helpers whose goal is to provide extra nurturing and put young Continued on 6

As scientists point to wildfires and severe drought across much of the American West, flooding in the Midwest, hurricanes in the South and other extreme weather as evidence of global warming’s impact, CHA, its members and other Catholic organizations are ramping up their efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Sr. Mary Haddad, RSM, CHA’s president and chief executive officer, said health care has a strong role to play in helping to halt climate change and in leading the way toward sustainability. She noted that the sector in recent years has begun working to stop being a contributor to the heating of the atmosphere by The McFarland Fire scorches a section of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Northern California in curbing its use of fossil fuels and emissions mid-August. In one day, the blaze turned 25,000 acres to ash, according to the National Interagency of carbon. Coordination Center, a command hub where fire-fighting resources are mobilized. Scientists say global Continued on 5 warming is worsening the conditions that fuel wildfires.

U.S. Forest Service

By LISA EISENHAUER

CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD September 15, 2021

Catholic aid agencies mobilize to respond to Haiti quake victims Several Catholic agencies already working in Haiti rushed medical and humanitarian support to victims of the earthquake that struck a southwestern region of the country on Aug. 14. The U.S. Agency for International Development reported five days after the 7.2-magnitude quake that almost 2,200 people were known to be dead and more than 12,000 injured. The agency said about 130,000 homes were damaged or destroyed and 2.2 million people in the impoverished Caribbean nation of 11.3 million were somehow impacted by the disaster. Kevin Kostic, director of donor relations for Catholic Relief Services, said his organization had teams in the quake area almost immediately after the temblor to help victims and provide medical supplies, hygiene products and other needed supplies. “It has been a challenge, frankly, to be able to get out to the various areas,” he said. Kostic was among several representatives of relief and support agencies who discussed how their organizations are responding and how others can help during a group call about the disaster on Aug. 18 arranged by Bruce Compton, CHA’s senior director, global health. By late August, Catholic Relief Services reported that it had expanded its efforts in Haiti and was providing metal roofing sheets and tarps to hundreds of families in the quake zone. Dianne Jean-FranÇois, country director for Haiti for the Catholic Medical Mission Board, spoke from Haiti during the call. She said her organization responded to the earthquake zone immediately with medical supplies and medical workers to treat the injured and to support local medical facilities. The earthquake exacerbated the despair in the distressed nation, the relief workers said. In addition to the COVID-19

Health to get $125,000 worth of IV solutions to the Catholic Medical Mission Board and it teamed with Midwives for Haiti to get tents and supplies and set up temporary operations adjacent to a birth center that was inoperable after the quake. “The midwives are reporting lots of trauma and secondary morbidities, but they are in good spirits and have delivered many babies,” Grippon said about two weeks after the disaster hit. Several of the agency representatives said that the need for assistance in Haiti is great and support for their efforts is welcome. They urged, however, that donors send only cash or aid that has been specifically requested. First responders with the Fairfax County, Virginia, Fire and Rescue Department search through rubble left by the They noted that sending supearthquake that rocked southwestern Haiti on Aug. 14. The men were part of a disaster response team sent by the plies that haven’t been requested U.S. Agency for International Development. can clog up the system for distributing needed items and create pandemic, Haiti has been reeling from the Haiti, which is near the epicenter of the waste. “Obviously we don’t want to do any political instability created by the assas- quake. The organization also worked with harm,” Grippon noted. sination on July 7 of its president. A por- the Ministry of Health and other partners Compton pointed out that the USAID tion of the road to the quake zone from to expand surgical services elsewhere and website has a list of organizations that are the capital of Port-au-Prince is under gang to bring in medications and equipment. responding to the Haiti disaster. He also control. Camille Grippon, system director for urged potential donors to check out the Rachel Ross, chief development officer global ministries at Bon Secours Mercy disaster resources section of CHA’s website of Health Equity International, said her Health, said her health system teamed up for advice on how best to assist in global group was caring for quake victims at its with several partners to get supplies to the emergencies. St. Boniface Hospital in Fond-des-Blancs, quake region. It worked with CHRISTUS leisenhauer@chausa.org U.S. Agency for International Development

By LISA EISENHAUER

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September 15, 2021 CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD

Trinity renovating continuum of care sites in line with seniors’ expectations By JULIE MINDA

Trinity Health Senior Communities is remodeling three of its senior living campuses in response to evolving preferences of seniors. The seniors’ changing expectations were reflected in surveys the continuum of care system has conducted to inform the capital projects. Steven Kastner, president and chief executive of Trinity Health Senior Communities, says the organization learned Kastner in its surveys of current and prospective residents that “they want mind, body and spiritual wellness; they want dining options; they want bigger living spaces.” Trinity Health is investing about $36.5 million total in the three campuses over the next several years to update interior spaces and to add independent living residences. Kastner notes that the remodeling and construction projects are part of a larger effort at Trinity Health Senior Communities that started about five years ago to rebalance its portfolio of 23 communities in six Midwestern, Northeastern and Eastern states. The organization is downsizing the proportion of skilled nursing facilities on six of its campuses and increasing the proportion of independent living facilities. He says that it is important to prepare for the entrance into the market of baby boomers, who are now between the ages of 57 and 75. Boomers are not yet enter-

Trinity Health Senior Communities is enlarging independent living apartments at some of its senior living facilities to meet the preferences of current and future residents. This rendering illustrates the bigger bedrooms being incorporated in apartment designs for St. Paul’s Life Plan Community in South Bend, Indiana.

ing continuing care facilities in large numbers; they will begin doing so over the next decade. “We continue to refine what we know and to learn more” about the coming generation of senior facility residents, he says. “We know the expectations of the baby boomer market are higher” than those of their parents, the generation that makes up the majority of residents on senior care campuses now.

Ahead of the curve According to a 2014 analysis from the Milliman risk management, benefits and technology firm, people who enter continuing care retirement communities typi-

BED COUNT CHANGES Glacier Hills Life Plan Community in Ann Arbor, Michigan Skilled nursing facility beds Assisted living apartments Independent living apartments

Pre-construction Post-construction 161 44 104 36 149 181

St. Paul’s Life Plan Community in South Bend, Indiana Skilled nursing facility beds Assisted living apartments Independent living apartments

Pre-construction Post-construction 78 0 115 40 176 195

Marycrest Life Plan Community in Livonia, Michigan Skilled nursing facility beds Assisted living apartments Independent living apartments

Pre-construction Post-construction 98 0 24 24 60 105

cally are ages 65 to 95. In the 20 years prior to the report’s publication, average entry ages had increased from the mid-70s to the low 80s. The report said a mature continuing care retirement community normally has an independent living population with an average age of between 85 and 87. Continuing care retirement communities are campuses that offer multiple levels of care and services that seniors access as their health and mobility dictates. Trinity Health Senior Communities calls these campuses “life plan communities.” Kastner says Trinity Health Senior Communities’ work to update selected campuses is an effort to set its senior campuses up to offer the amenities boomers say they want. “As organizations, we (in the senior care market) are sometimes slow to react to change, and we end up with dated buildings that are not what people are looking for. We are trying to be proactive and stay competitive in the market, while also being good stewards.”

Rebalancing As to Trinity Health’s decision to downsize or eliminate skilled nursing facilities on some campuses, he says the thinking behind this shift is that advances in telemedicine are enabling people to age in place at home or in independent living or assisted living facilities. Because of this and other factors, the expectation is that there will be slow growth in demand for skilled nursing facility care. “People are going into our skilled nursing facilities more acutely ill than ever before,” Kastner says. “There will always be a place for the skilled nursing facility in the

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future. However, we anticipate that these residents will continue to have increasing needs, more closely resembling patients in an acute care setting. We expect that baby boomers will be more likely to age in place in the home setting until their needs grow to the point that they need a much higher level of care. The skilled nursing facility will therefore be reserved for more acutely ill residents. “The number of individuals coming to us with dementia will increase,” he adds. “We believe that these residents are best cared for in the assisted living environment, where they are empowered to maintain their independence in a supportive environment for as long as possible,” Kastner says. “Only in the end stage of their condition would they require skilled nursing care.”

One package Nora Wiley is a partner and executive vice president for Luminaut, the architecture firm planning the renovation work. She says in many communities, seniors have felt that they had a choice between forprofit facilities with all the Wiley bells and whistles but not enough attention to holistic wellness, and faith-based nonprofits that have the holistic focus but in outmoded facilities. “Trinity Health is now putting it all together in one package,” she says. Generally, in the U.S., residents pay for independent and assisted living with private funds, including out-of-pocket and private insurance dollars. On the other hand, most skilled nursing care is paid by government insurers, primarily Medicaid. Kastner notes that while Trinity Health Senior Communities currently is focusing its revitalization on the areas of its campuses that attract more affluent seniors, it also is investing in upgrades that will benefit a broader array of residents. Fitness, food and fun The initial work is concentrated at three of its largest campuses: St. Paul’s Life Plan Community in South Bend, Indiana; Glacier Hills Life Plan Community in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Marycrest Life Plan Community in Livonia, Michigan. The interior refresh of the St. Paul and Glacier Hill campuses is underway. The renovations include repurposing communal spaces for use as wellness, group fitness, game rooms and art studios and enlivening dining offerings with options including bistros and pubs. It will be beautifying and modernizing reception spaces and integrating technology throughout the campuses. Kastner says a wired campus will allow for improved social networking and communications technology. Such technology proved to be “a game changer in terms of communications among physicians, our colleagues, residents and families” during the pandemic. “We have learned so much so quickly about how better to use technology,” he says. Plans call for the remodeling of existing independent living apartments or the construction of new ones on all three campuses. The new units will be larger than those available today. Some of these units will have two bedrooms, a living room and a den, to use as an office or hobby room or for entertaining. St. Paul’s will add 25 such apartments, Glacier Hills, 30, and Marycrest, 45. While the bulk of the work is centered around the independent living sections of the campuses, some will take place in the assisted living sections. Additionally, Trinity Health is in the process of converting semi-private skilled nursing rooms to private rooms in the facilities that are retaining skilled nursing. jminda@chausa.org

CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD September 15, 2021

Vaccines for kids

tors say they emphasize that while children are at lower risk of serious side effects and death from COVID, as compared with older populations, they still can require hospitalization and endure long-lasting health consequences from the virus.

From page 1

kids, and with school starting, we’re starting to see increasing infections, increasing symptoms. The vaccine is the best way to protect people, and so I ask in every patient visit” about openness to vaccination. Kanumilli is among a sampling of ministry-affiliated pediatricians and pediatric practice leaders who say they are deeply concerned about youth who are eligible for the shots but unvaccinated. They are working to dispel the fears of teens and their vaccine-hesitant parents. Ministry systems too are sending pro-vaccine messages directly to parents of teens and promoting teen vaccination in mass media, on social media and in community forums. The Kaiser survey found that parents’ top concern about vaccinating their teens had to do with safety and side effects. Almost 90% of the vaccine-hesitant respondents say not enough is known about the long-term side effects in children. Kaiser’s research summary says that nearly 75% of vaccine-hesitant parents cite fears the drug may negatively impact their child’s future fertility even though the Centers for

“Our biggest role as providers is to establish ourselves as a source that can be trusted and that is open and honest.” — Dr. Sreeramya Kanumilli Disease Control and Prevention says there is no evidence that any of the COVID vaccines, or any vaccines for that matter, cause female or male infertility. “Our biggest role as providers is to establish ourselves as a source that can be trusted and that is open and honest,” says Kanumilli, whose medical group is affiliated with Providence St. Joseph Health. “I encourage patients to ask questions, and I dispel myths.”

Kids aren’t little adults In December, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to people ages 16 and up. In mid-May the agency broadened its emergency use authorization again, this time to approve the use of the Pfizer vaccine in people ages 12-15. Moderna has a pending FDA application for an emergency use authorization to allow its vaccine to be used in those 12 to 18. (In August, Pfizer became the first vaccine maker to gain full FDA approval for use of its COVID vaccine in people 16 and older.) Dr. Joseph Kahn, president of Mercy Kids, the pediatric practice of Mercy, says that FDA emergency use authorization could come in late fall or early winter for children ages 5-11 and in the spring for those younger than 5. The Pfizer vaccine likely would be the first available to these age groups. The pediatricians and practice leaders from Mercy, Hospital Sisters Health System, Providence St. Joseph Health and Trinity Health who spoke to Catholic Health World say many of their eligible adolescent patients are receiving their inoculations in the large, centralized vaccination centers these systems established early this year, including drive-thru centers set up by HSHS. Some systems, including HSHS and Trinity Health, have been offering vaccinations in their primary care and pediatric clinics on a limited basis. Kahn notes Mercy is already thinking about how it can efficiently inoculate large numbers of young children in pediatric offices once the FDA gives the go ahead. Some of the COVID vaccines expire fairly quicky — within six hours of opening a vial — and since young children almost surely will be administered smaller doses

Dr. Diana M. Roukoz, a Mercy Clinic Pediatrics pediatrician, treats Maggie Lorentz, 9, and Elaina Lorentz, 6, at her suburban St. Louis office. Roukoz spoke with their mom Rebecca Lorentz, second from left, about when the COVID vaccine may be approved for use in children ages 5 to 12. Lorentz plans to have the girls inoculated. The girls’ two older brothers already have been.

than adults, there will be more doses available per vial. Kahn said it will be challenging to minimize vaccine waste. Thru-put is another concern. Mercy may enlist Child Life specialists to calm children who fear needle sticks.

Rushing in or holding out More than one-third of parents of children ages 5-11 who responded to the Kaiser survey published in August say they will only vaccinate their child if required to do so or that they will definitely not vaccinate. Forty percent of parents of children under 5 said this. Dr. Manasi Hulyalkar, a pediatrician with HSHS Medical Group in Jacksonville, Illinois, says roughly half of her patients’ parents are very enthusiastic about vaccination and about half are hesitant. Kanumilli says many of Hulyalkar her patients in Southern California want their kids vaccinated as soon as they are eligible. Dr. Diana M. Roukoz, a Mercy Clinic Pediatrics pediatrician practicing in suburban St. Louis, says she has had some parents Roukoz so eager to vaccinate their kids under 12 that they’ve asked if they can fib about their age, but others are resistant. Some of her teen patients work to persuade their vaccine-hesitant parents to OK the inoculation. She says she’s been brought to tears by socially minded teens who tell her of their desire to get the shots so they can protect others. Dr. Sanjay Garg, a pediatrician with HSHS Medical Group in Decatur, Illinois, says his patients’ parents are about evenly split between the vaccine-enthusiastic and the vaccine-hesitant. The Garg latter group includes parents worried about how fast the vaccines were approved, concerns he counters by explaining the rigorous process of vaccine development and testing. Kanumilli says parents also worry about myocarditis, a potentially serious but rare complication of mRNA vaccinations. Hulyalkar says some parents say since the overwhelming majority of kids infected with COVID thus far have mild symptoms, it’s a low-risk proposition to hold off on vaccination. But, she says, as caseloads rise locally, so too do parental fears and interest in vaccinating their children. In conversations with parents, the doc-

Dr. Sreeramya Kanumilli, a pediatrician with the Facey Medical Group in Burbank, California, is an enthusiastic promoter of vaccination for all who are eligible. Facey is affiliated with Providence St. Joseph Health.

Open door All the pediatricians say they are focused on being transparent, fact-based and nonjudgmental in communicating with parents and youth about vaccines. They’re encouraging them to rely on trusted health professionals rather than social media in making medical decisions. “Our message is: ‘We are on your side,’” Hulyalkar says. Dr. Dan Roth, Trinity Health executive vice president and chief clinical officer, says vaccine hesitancy is not a novel issue. A percentage of parents long have been concerned with — and resistant to — pediatric inoculations. Roth Trinity Health pediatricians reach out to parents whose kids are behind on pediatric vaccinations and other preventive care. They likely will contact parents of youth not vaccinated for COVID too. Kahn says Mercy’s marketing department is amplifying its pro-vaccination messages and education through traditional and social media. Two Mercy pediatricians who practice in central Missouri’s Laclede County have created podcasts on the vaccination topic. According to The New York Times tracker, Laclede County has a vaccination rate of 29%. Kanumilli fields questions about pediatric vaccination in online community forums. Her message to vaccine-hesitant parents is: “The vaccines are a wonderful gift from God, and we need to rally together, accept this gift and be on the same page.” jminda@chausa.org

PAU S E . B R E AT H E . H E A L .

I Will Not Be Afraid For just this moment, bring your attention to your breath. INHALE deeply and settle yourself into your body. EXHALE the stress and tension you feel. On your next inhale, pray, I Will Not Be Afraid And as you exhale, For You Are With Me I Will Not Be Afraid, For You Are With Me KEEP BREATHING this prayer for a few moments. (Repeat the prayer several times) CONCLUDE, REMEMBERING: Even now, God is with you, as near to you as your breath. Continue giving yourself the gift to pause, breathe, and heal knowing you are not alone.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, PSALM 23:4 For more prayer resources visit chausa.org/prayers © Catholic Health Association of the United States

September 15, 2021 CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD

Climate threat From page 1

Providence St. Joseph Health, one of the largest Catholic health systems, has pledged to become carbon neutral over the next few years. Ascension recently developed a longterm environmental impact and sustainability program to augment its aggressive ongoing efforts. It focuses on net-zero carbon emissions at facilities, responsible supply chain management and fostering healthy communities. “We in health care have a responsibility to ensure that we do everything we can to help reverse the Sr. Mary impact that we’ve already created and to take a leadership role in doing that,” Sr. Mary said.

Mission alignment She noted that countering climate change closely aligns with the Catholic mission of CHA and its member organizations. One of the core Catholic principles that guide CHA is providing a voice for those on the margins — this includes people who might otherwise have no say on climate change and who are also among the most likely to be adversely affected by the impacts of a damaged planet, Sr. Mary said. “We work in common with other health associations, but our key focus, and what our members want us to keep focused on, are those things that are critical to Catholic social teaching,” she said. “Those areas around caring for people who are poor and marginalized motivate us most around advocacy issues.” CHA has been working with Catholic health systems for several years to share

best practices on sustainability and ways to act in partnership within communities to devise solutions to climate-related issues. Many of those efforts such as toxic materials management and sustainable purchasing are covered in the environment focus area of CHA’s website. Sr. Mary and Loren Chandler, CHA’s chief operations and finance officer, are working with health system leaders to expand and coordinate efforts around the environment. “It really gets back to what CHA is about, which is that we’re better together,” Chandler said. “So, we’re looking at how do we get all the work Chandler that’s already going on with our members at the significant level and bring them together to have more of a higher-level strategic thinking of what can we do to effectuate change.”

grim. The first report says human influence has warmed the climate at a rate that is unprecedented in at least the last 2,000 years and is unequivocally linked to impacts such as flooding and droughts. The UNICEF report says that a billion children across the globe are at significant risk from climate-related disasters. “For anybody who’s paying attention it’s code red for immediate action,” Cohen said. Despite the dire situation, he said there is still time for transformation. “That’s what’s incredible: our generation is in a unique position to fundamentally reduce the burden on our children and grandchildren if we act expeditiously, if we act with boldness and passion Actions will be guided by seven cross-cutting and spirituality,” Cohen said. Laudato Sí Goals, that gives us something concrete He said the health care sector is to aim for as we build a new future together, ideal to lead on climate change for encompassing the breadth of integral ecology. several reasons. The first is that it’s taking care of people in the midst The focus is on redefining and rebuilding our of extreme weather events and so relationship with each other and our common home, it “needs to sort of anchor the resiltaking a holistic approach and calling for a spiritual Code red ience of the communities that it and cultural revolution to realize integral ecology. On Aug. 30, the U.S. Departserves.” Another is that polls roument of Health and Human Services A slide from a presentation about the Laudato Sí Action Platform tinely show that the health care secannounced the establishment of an prepared by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human tor is a trusted voice. Office of Climate Change and Health Development explains the initiative’s goals. “We think that having health Equity. The mission of the office is to professionals become educated, protect vulnerable communities. the nonprofit Health Care become advocates for policies that are On Sept. 23, CHA will host the 2021 Feast Without Harm, will be one going to accelerate our transformation of St Francis webinar. The topic is “Cry of of the featured speakers away from fossil fuels and toxic chemicals, the Earth, Cry of the Poor: Reducing our on the webinar. is very powerful and will help tip the politiCarbon Footprint” and the focus will be on Cohen noted that cal calculus,” Cohen said. how health care organizations can act to reports on global warmadopt renewable energy and become caring released in August Action in advance of summit bon neutral. The online event is open to the from the United Nations’ On the political front, CHA is partnerCohen public and free to anyone. Intergovernmental Panel ing with the Catholic Climate Covenant in Gary Cohen, founder and president of on Climate Change and from UNICEF are an effort to lobby Congress and the Biden administration to enact national solutions that address the sources and threats of climate change. The Catholic Climate Covenant is rallying support for a Climate Action Letter that will be sent to political leaders urging action in advance of a United Nations climate summit set to begin in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 1. “We would love to have a very strong showing from the U.S. Catholic community that we care about climate action,” said Jose Aguto, associate director of the Catholic Climate Covenant. CHA was among the founders of the covenant, which works to bring Catholic social teachings to bear on ecological issues, and was an early signer of the Climate Action Letter. The two organizations also are working collaboratively toward the launch of a much broader initiative, the Laudato Sí Action Platform. The platform is expected to officially launch Oct. 4. Its goal is to put in place a “ground-up approach” for communities to take decisive action in line with Laudato Sí, Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical calling on all people of good will to care for their common home.

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Seven goals over seven years The Catholic Climate Covenant has created a website, godsplanet.us, that explains the platform and its focus on seven sectors — one of which is health care — to enact seven goals over seven years. Among the goals are to respond to the cry of the poor and promote the adoption of simple lifestyles. The platform was crafted by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Sr. Mary became a member of the dicastery in the spring. She said the platform elevates health care to be part of the Vatican’s efforts to bring about global change. “I feel like it’s going to be a wonderful opportunity for me to represent Catholic health care and for us to get firsthand some of the ways that we can link in and connect with the work of the global church,” she said of her appointment to the dicastery.

CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD September 15, 2021

Foster grandparents From page 1

children on firmer educational footing. Most of the grandparents work in Head Start centers, early childhood education centers and elementary schools in lowincome areas. The benefits of the program flow to young and old. Stiles, a foster grandparent in a fourth-grade classroom at Billings’ Orchard Elementary School, says working with the children keeps her mind sharp. “This gives me a purpose and improves my health. And, I get the nicest notes from the kids.” Once she recovers from a recent sur- Foster grandparent Bruce Albers, shown here assisting a student at Eagle Cliffs Elementary in Billings, gery, foster grandparent Rosemary Peak, Montana, is working with second grade students at Bitterroot Elementary in Billings this school year. 87, plans to be back working with 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds in the Head Start program at the tor of the Foster Grandparent Program at school year. It is typical for foster grandparRamona King Center in Hays, population St. Vincent, says while some rural class- ents to continue with the same teacher or 843. Peak is related to the two other foster rooms may have just a few students per with the same grade level year after year. grandparents who work at the rural center. class, Billings-area classrooms typically The foster grandparent, who must be at She’s a member of the Assiniboine tribe have upwards of 20 students each. (Brady is least 55 years of age and pass a background and lives on the Fort Belknap Indian Res- departing the role she has held for 21 years check, commits to work at least 12 hours ervation about a mile up the road from the at the end of this month.) per week in the classroom, but can choose center in north central Montana. Many The foster grandparents work with to work up to 40 hours. of the children in her Head Start program native and non-native children who lag To qualify for a $3 per hour stipend for are members of her tribe or the Gros Ven- in reading, math and social or emotional their service, an applicant’s income must tre tribe, which development, as be at or below 200% of the federal poverty shares the reserdetermined by the level. vation. Elders are teacher through esteemed in tribal testing or observa- Wraparound services culture so Peak’s tion. Some of the Brady says most of the foster grandpargenerous praise children are faring ents have incomes at or below 130% of the and attention for poorly because poverty level. She says she is a resource students can raise they are homeless, to these individuals, helping them access their self-esteem in foster care or supports they need from St. Vincent and and build a posiexperiencing fam- partner organizations. For instance, tive attitude about ily trauma, says Brady helped one foster grandparent who learning. Brady. couldn’t pay her rent find more affordable Peak says the To be consid- temporary housing. Brady worked with the kids crave her Myrna Burgess is a foster grandparent at the Northern ered to host a fos- St. Vincent Foundation to get gift cards and attention, clam- Cheyenne Head Start program on the Northern Cheyter grandparent, funding to hold the woman over financially bering to sit on enne Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana. She teachers must until she could get into an apartment she her lap and play is a "chief child” — her father was a Cheyenne chief. identify the par- could afford. and their joy This photo was taken prior to the pandemic. ticular child or Brady tries to place new hires at schools makes her heart children in their and education centers in their own comlight. The kids call her Grandma Bunny — classroom who would benefit from a foster munities. She’s found that many prefer the a childhood nickname she got from her grandparent and document the specific shorter drives, especially in winter, and family that has stuck with her. One student needs such as ongoing academic or emo- many like to work in the school that they or called her Grandma Rabbit. “I love going to tional struggles. their children attended. the school. And the kids just love me — they When the request and candidate availcall to me when I ability align, Brady matches the foster Trusting relationship come in, and I get grandparent with a teacher and with a speBillings’ Broadwater Elementary, a lots of hugs,” she cific child or children in that classroom. school with a large proportion of lowsays. Then, the school and Brady draw up a non- income families, has hosted St. Vincent’s binding memorandum of understanding foster grandparents for decades. Principal One-on-one that spells out responsibilities and can be Justin Huck says some children arrive for attention renegotiated every three years. They also Kids in class- agree on an assignment plan that clearly rooms with foster states the grandparent’s schedule, duties grandparents get and goals. personal attenFoster grandparents can branch out to Barbara Brady tion that may interact with children in other classrooms, be difficult for but they concentrate on the child or chilteachers to provide. Barbara Brady, direc- dren they’ve been matched with each

St. Vincent documents program’s academic benefits for students

Justin Huck

kindergarten never having learned their ABCs. Carrie Langford, the one foster grandparent who was active at the school last year, worked remotely for part of the year because of the pandemic. The school closed in spring 2020 to in-person instruction and then resumed in-person at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. While Langford is not returning this year, Huck is working with the program to identify a new foster grandparent for Broadwater. He says one of the greatest benefits of having a foster grandparent in the classroom at Broadwater is that students can build relationships with a responsible, caring adult — a positive role model. He says in an orientation video for the program: “You have another person who can work with those students one on one, or with small groups of students, doing some flashcards, reading to them.” Brady says many teachers claim that the biggest benefit of having a foster grandparent in the classroom is their ability to encourage students, help keep them on task and to be there emotionally for them.

Life goes on AmeriCorps, a federal agency that tackles pressing U.S. concerns through national service and volunteering, provides $242,470 in grants for the program. St. Vincent adds a 10% match annually in community benefit dollars, and lends administrative support. Its foundation contributes an additional $27,000. The budget supports staff costs for the program’s director and part-time assistant, foster grandparents’ stipends, mileage reimbursement and trainings. Normally, the program funds up to four dozen foster grandparents through St. Vincent. That count has been as low as 27 over the past year. A number of those foster grandparents videoconference with students during COVID-driven school closures. This year Billings-area schools in the foster grandparent program are all expected to start the year with in-person instruction. Brady says any foster grandparent who wants to return to the classroom will be able to do so, at least for now. She is monitoring COVID caseloads in the community and will determine if changes are needed. Foster grandparents wear St. Vincent name badges while in the classroom, and Brady says St. Vincent shares in the goodwill they engender. Brady says she loves to hear from the senior adults how being a foster grandparent has improved their lives. “The program gets in their hearts. They get hugs from the kids; they get thank-yous from teachers; they are recognized in the grocery store. “They experience the value of feeling like they are needed,” she says. “When many people are older and perhaps retire, they feel like they lose their identity. This program shows that just because someone gets older, doesn’t mean their life has to stop.” To learn about the program visit chausa. org/chworld. jminda@chausa.org

he Foster Grandparent Program from St. Vincent Healthcare of Billings, Montana, is improving the academic performance of struggling students, according to Barbara Brady, its outgoing director. In the last full school year that was not interrupted by the pandemic — the 20182019 school year — 45 foster grandparents interacted with 496 students, either oneon-one or in small groups. For that school year, pre- and post-testing found that 79% of these students showed academic improvement. During the pandemic-related school closures, 23 foster grandparents compiled project assignments that were given to kids in an early childhood program, and all 230 children who received such assignments showed academic gains. And 90% of 130 elementary school children who interacted virtually with 12 foster grandparents showed academic gains, according to Brady. A 2019 study of AmeriCorp Senior volunteers, including foster grandparents from the St. Vincent Healthcare Foster Grandparent Program, found that these volunteers self-reported improved or stable health, reduced depression, reduced isolation and improved feelings of having companionship, as compared to senior adults who did not volunteer. The federal agency the Corporation for National and Community Service funded the study. A companion study found that the caregivers of the AmeriCorp Senior volunteers reported getting more respite and saw their own health improve due to gaining personal time when the senior adults were away from home in their foster grandparent roles.

Foster grandparent Audrey Kemp reads with a child in a first grade classroom at Eagle Cliffs Elementary in Billings.

September 15, 2021 CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD

Living wage From page 1

the federal minimum or state minimums are, we’ve got to have our own minimums to be competitive and to make sure that we are rewarding our employees based on the work that they are doing.” Jensen said Avera’s latest bump in its lowest wage affected 9,000 Jensen workers in the five Upper Midwest states where the system has hospitals, clinics and long-term care centers. The increase prompted Avera to adjust its pay scales higher up, so many of the workers whose wages were affected already were making above the minimum. The system puts the annualized expense of the increase at $7 million.

Accelerating the process Mercy announced its $15-an-hour minimum wage on Aug. 19. The boost will be fully implemented across the four Midwestern states where the system operates by Sept. 19. Mercy said the pay increase is an $18 million annual commitment that will mean bigger paychecks for 6,000 workers, including those in housekeeping, food service, transportation and pharmacy. Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, said Mercy put a program in place about six months ago to bring all co-workers up to the $15 minimum wage by 2023 Bentzen-Mercer then accelerated it. Bentzen-Mercer said the change was speeded up because “at the core we feel it’s the right thing to do” based on Mercy’s Catholic mission to provide a livable wage to all staffers The system adjusted wages further up the scale, too. The pay boost for Mercy workers who are affected will be on average $1 per hour and as much as $3 an hour for some, she said. Bentzen-Mercer acknowledged that with the jobless rate at 5.4% nationally, huge companies including Amazon, Costco and Target boosting their minimum wages to $15 an hour and entry-level workers in short supply, Mercy like many other employers is finding filling openings for low-skill jobs a challenge. She said the minimum wage boost is less about recruiting new workers

An environmental services worker cleans a patient room at a Mercy hospital. The system is boosting its minimum wage to $15 at facilities across its four-state footprint.

Johoro Shoble is a housekeeper with Avera Health. The system is one of several that have boosted its minimum pay for many workers in recent months.

than about dissuading those already on staff from leaving for jobs elsewhere. “Our feeling is that we have incredibly talented co-workers who are a great fit for Mercy and who have a heart to serve and it’s important that we’re valuing them with a wage that they can better take care of their family and their loved ones,” she said.

officer for Bon Secours Mercy Health, said in the press release announcing the wage hike. In addition to wages, the health system said in its 2019 announcement that its definition of a dignified livelihood includes

Banking on livable wages CHI Saint Joseph Health, part of CommonSpirit Health, announced its $15 minimum wage on Aug. 17 effective immediately. The annual financial impact is $3 million for the system, which is based in Lexington and has 100 locations in 20 Kentucky counties. Tony Houston said that he made paying livable wages a focus for his leadership team when he became chief executive of CHI Saint Barb Knudtson is on the housekeeping staff of Avera Health. The sysJoseph Health in April. tem’s minimum wage boost in May is its third in about 18 months. “As Pope Francis said, ‘We are all created “comprehensive and affordable medical with a vocation to work’ coverage; generous paid time off; a welland we at CHI Saint Joseph being program for body, mind and spirit; focus on being a great LifeMatters work/life services for life’s chalplace to work,” Houston lenges; and comprehensive savings and said. “And so, when we retirement programs.” LifeMatters is an reviewed our platform employee assistance program. and foundation for being Several systems noted that, once experiHouston that great place to work, ence and other factors are figured in, many the team really rallied around ensuring we new hires start at well above their respective focused on providing a livable wage.” system’s minimum wage even in positions On average, the pay boost is $1.95 an that are at the lowest end of the pay scale. hour, a 15% one-time bump for those on Kim Enebo, vice president of talent and the lowest end of the system’s pay scale. rewards at Avera Health, pointed out that Houston said another increase could be her system’s entry-level warranted if the costs of housing, food and wage boost isn’t the only other expenses that figure into a livable incentive it has rolled wage rise and if the competition for workers out to keep workers from remains strong. being lured away. One that “It’s $15 today,” he said. “We’ll see where it started as a pilot in Sepit goes in the future.” tember 2020 was to offer nurses at some of its inpaEnebo One incentive among many tient facilities up to $2,000 One of the earlier adopters of a plan for a year toward the principal on their student a $15 minimum wage was Bon Secours loans. The program proved so popular that Mercy Health. The system, which operates Avera is now offering the same perk to all in seven Eastern and Midwestern states, nurses. announced its decision in December 2019 “There’s a lot of discussion right now to have the wage boost phased in by 2022. on all sorts of things that we have not done That schedule was accelerated and the $15 in the past,” Enebo said of Avera’s efforts to minimum will be in place this fall. recruit and retain workers. Once fully in place, the system said the increase would raise the wages of 14% of More openings, fewer applicants Bon Secours Mercy Health’s 60,000 employEven systems that aren’t adopting a ees. It reflects a $17 million investment over higher minimum wage are making use of three years, the system said. other strategies and incentives to bring “We are proud to provide our associates more workers onboard and keep the ones a dignified livelihood, which includes a they have happy. competitive living wage, affordable access Greg Till, chief people officer at Provito health care, and other programs that sup- dence St. Joseph Health, highlighted the port their well-being, in body, mind and difficult challenge health systems are facspirit,” Joe Gage, chief human resources ing. As an industry, health care is only filling

43% of positions posted, and turnover is at its highest point since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started measuring it. At Providence St. Joseph Health, applications for openings are down by 25%. Despite this, Till says the system is making 25% more hires than ever to keep up with turnover and expanded services. “We believe that our mission and our benefits and our pay are certainly calling health care professionals even though everybody in the industry right now is struggling with retention and hiring,” he said. Till said that while starting pay for most jobs in the majority of Providence St. Joseph Health’s markets is $15 or above, the system hasn’t set an across-the-board minimum rate for the five Western states where it operates. He said it has been regularly revising pay scales within markets and that most of those adjustments have been for entrylevel jobs and for those at the low end of the scale. Providence also offers free or reduced cost benefits premiums for employees whose family income falls below four times the federal poverty limit, which is $105,000 for a family of four. Enebo said the assessment of whether the $15 minimum wage needs further adjustment is ongoing at Avera. “We are looking at for this fall, do we need to go to $16. What’s next? We’re not done yet,” she said. “We’ve got to continue to at least assess it along with our whole compensation review and planning.” leisenhauer@chausa.org

KEEPING UP

Biersack

Antonucci

White

Martin

PRESIDENT

Dr. Matt Biersack to president of Mercy Health Saint Mary’s of Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is part of Trinity Health. He was chief medical officer. He has Moss continued in that role since becoming interim president in March. He will remain chief medical officer until the facility names his replacement.

ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES

Providence Health Plan has made these changes: Don Antonucci to chief executive and Michael White to president. Providence Health Plan is a not-for-profit serving the Pacific Northwest. Barbara Martin to system senior vice president for advanced practice at CommonSpirit Health of Chicago. Brendan Moss to mission leader in the North Iowa and Northeast Iowa regions of MercyOne, a network of more than two dozen hospitals and other care sites, mostly in Iowa.

GIFT

Mercy Health – Clermont Hospital in Batavia, Ohio, has received a nearly $1.2 million donation from an anonymous donor. It is the largest gift in the facility’s history. The facility will use the funds to replace patient room furniture and purchase patient repositioning devices. The gift also will help fund the renovation of a wound care center and the creation of a healing garden.

CATHOLIC HEALTH WORLD September 15, 2021

Burn Camp

Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation

campers could do by Zoom. In addiFrom page 1 tion to crafts, there was a virtual kayak gone through it?” muses Kersten. “It was tour and marshkind of crazy to think about all the pain and mallow-eating all the difficulties and sometimes having to competition. relearn how to walk and eat and things like One of the that, and to hear someone say that, I was camp’s big events is like ‘I need to know more about this.’” a fire truck parade Kersten credits the girls’ positive take on that features doztheir ordeals to the aftercare they have gotens of engines ten, including from attending Burn Camp. from departments She has made her professional life all across the state. about burn injury recovery. Her full-time Aine King, program job is as a nurse practitioner at Ascension coordinator for the Columbia St. Mary’s Regional Burn CenProfessional Fire ter and Outpatient Clinic in Milwaukee. These campers are all smiles as they wait for their turn at the zipline during a Fighters of WisBurn Camp is her avocation. She has vol- nighttime outing at Burn Camp in August. Parents consented to the publicaconsin Charitable unteered there since 2004, first as a camp tion of the campers’ pictures that appear on this page. The names of the Foundation, says counselor and for the last five years as children were not released to protect their privacy. that last year, “Each director. kid’s local fire The annual event, officially Summer a medical facility in Wisconsin. Campers department came out with rig and dropped Camp for Burn Injured Youth, requires year- tend to come back year after year, and some off coupons for Culver’s custard” at their round planning and much more of her time go on to become counselors. In a typical homes. “It was really special, even in the than just the week of year, 50-60 chil- midst of COVID.” vacation she devotes dren and teenThis year the overnight camp and the fire to it every August. agers attend. truck parade resumed, with modifications. Still, she says: “This This year, like Wos said the camp followed pandemic prois what I do for fun.” last year, wasn’t tocols recommended by the Centers for typical because Disease Control and Prevention and groups Camp Timber-lee of the COVID-19 like the YMCA to minimize the chances of This year the pandemic. COVID spread. camp was held Last year, Instead of one weeklong event, the camp Aug. 8-14. The locathe camp was was broken into two sessions. From Suntion is Camp Tim- A 2021 session camper belays down the climbing all virtual. The day-Tuesday, campers ages 7-12 attended. ber-lee in East Troy, tower during Burn Camp. The camp’s organizers organizers sent The older campers came Thursday-SaturWisconsin, about 40 say the activity encourages the kids to confront a “camp-in-box” day. Wednesday was a cleaning day. There miles west of Mil- their fears and test their bravery. package to all was a parade at each session, albeit with waukee. Shared use the campers. It fewer engines in each. of the 300-acre private space is rented for included supplies for crafts such as tiethe event by the Professional Fire Fighters of dyeing T-shirts and various other goodies. A village of supporters Wisconsin Charitable Foundation. For seven days, Kersten and the other camp As in years past, fire departments from Mike Wos, the foundation’s executive volunteers arranged virtual events that the across Wisconsin donated the meals for director, says the group plans and funds the campers and volevents for burn victims of all ages. “Burn unteers. Wos is with the Camp is certainly our flagship program that Oshkosh department, we’re most known for,” Wos says. which brought in lunch This was the event’s 27th year. The founon Monday. He estidation began its burn victim programs after mates that the camp three fires in Milwaukee within two weeks has had monetary or in fall 1987 killed 20 people, including 17 in-kind gifts from 3,000 children. donors over the years. “Like most nonprofits, it starts with trag“It really takes a viledy but through that tragedy we’ve served lage to put this on,” he thousands of young burn victims through says. “Through so many Burn Camp and other burn injury support great people, it’s made programs that we do throughout the year,” possible year after year.” Wos says. Some of the fundAll of the foundation’s programs are free ing for the camp comes to participants. Wos said the budget for from an annual golf Burn Camp is about $114,000. That includes tournament, an event hiring motor coaches to pick up campers in founded by the National three Wisconsin cities: Milwaukee, MadiFire Sprinkler Assoson and Green Bay; a week of swimming, ciation. Some of the fishing, archery, horseback riding and other event’s proceeds go to activities; and lodging for the campers and the Ascension Columvolunteer staff of 38. bia St. Mary’s Regional A virtual Burn Camp participant checks out a box of goodies in August Burn Center and OutpaPandemic adjustments 2020. Because of the pandemic, the sleepaway camp was switched to tient Clinic by way of the The week at camp is open to any child an online one. Each camper got a box of supplies for a week of virtual Ascension Wisconsin aged 7-17 who got care for a burn injury at activities and meetups. Foundation. Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Regional Burn Center treats burn victims as young as 13. The outpatient clinic treats patients of all ages. Darlene Sargent manages both. She says the clinic, which opened in 2014, meets a specific need of burn patients who, after being treated in an emergency room, sometimes had to wait days for follow-up care. The clinic has a goal to get all patients seen within 48 hours of their ER visits. Sargent says patients usually are seen within 24 A camper is eager to mount up for a group trail ride around the Camp Timber-lee acreage. Many campers return every year for hours. the mid-August camp session. The clinic is staffed by four nurses who

provide medical care and education for wound care and scar management. The clinic provides follow-up care for adults discharged from the hospital’s inpatient burn unit and youth discharged from pediatric burn centers in the Milwaukee area. Kersten also assists at the clinic, which she helped open. Sargent says burn care requires a caregiver who can tend to people with physical and emotional wounds from the accident or abuse that led to their injuries. “They want to work with a very vulnerable patient population,” she says of the burn center staff.

Marked with paint from a tie-dye activity, a 2021 session camper proudly displays his catch.

Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation

Sargent says many burn center or clinic staffers have volunteered their time as either counselors or craft or activity leaders at Burn Camp. She likes to attend on the camp’s visitors’ day, which in nonpandemic times typically draws a few hundred people. “I just like to see the kids, see them grow, see the adults that work at the camp,” she says. “It’s nice to see all the support that the Burn Camp gets from various organizations.”

Connecting with others This year Burn Camp drew 42 overnight campers; five attended virtually. A side event called Explorers Camp for children ages 3-6 had three children who participated virtually. In normal years, explorers get an early taste of the camp by spending one day there with their families. They are even assigned a bunk in a cabin where they hang out for part of the day. This was 12-year-old Jazmin Gutierrez’ fourth year at camp. Jazmin got outpatient care after being scalded by a bowl of ramen noodles that tipped over as she pulled it out of a microwave that was nearly out of her reach. Her mother, Crystal Kozinski, says Jazmin loves going to the camp. Horseback riding and fishing are among her favorite activities and she raves about the food. Kozinski says being around the other kids her first year at camp made Jazmin less self-conscious about a burn scar on her chest. “When she went to camp and she saw some of the other kids who were way worse than her, she felt bad for feeling bad,” Kozinski says. Freedom to thrive That sort of connection and self-awareness is what the camp is all about, say its organizers. While the experience mostly is vintage summer camp, sprinkled in are some self-esteem and self-awareness sessions as well as at least one motivational speech. Activities like a zip line and a rope course that let campers push themselves to their limits teach that their injuries don’t define or limit them, the organizers say. Kersten says: “I’m just most proud of being able to watch the campers grow up and maybe making a small impact in their lives and being able to encourage them to know that they’re not alone in their journey and that we’re always here to come alongside them.” leisenhauer@chausa.org