Catholic Healthcare Accounts For 20% of US Healthcare

Bill Cox, President and CEO of the Alliance of Catholic Health Care, and Mary Jo Potter, Managing Partner of Highperlink, will provide a glimpse into what Catholic Healthcare is really doing — including the contributions being made by individuals who work in Catholic Healthcare hospitals — at the Catholics@Work breakfast event on Tuesday, May 08, 2007 at 7:00am. They will also discuss some of the daunting challenges that face Catholic Healthcare because of recent legislation and legal challenges.

Catholics@Work is a fellowship of individuals who explore how to actively live one’s values in the workplace. As CEO of the Alliance, Mr. Cox manages a statewide organization in which Catholic Health Care leaders collaborate to further the cause of Catholic Health Care in California. The Alliance includes 63 hospitals, and is the largest State association of hospitals under a single form of sponsorship. Ms Potter has consulted to many health care organizations, including Kaiser, Genentech, and Affymetrix locally, and has spent over 20 years on Boards of Catholic Health Care organizations nationwide, including being Chair of the Board of Catholic Healthcare West, the largest Catholic System on the West Coast.

The Catholics@Work breakfast event will be held at Crow Canyon Country Club, 711 Silver Lake Drive, Danville, CA 94526 on Tuesday, May 08, 2007. A full buffet breakfast is served starting at 7:00am (Mass is offered at 6:30am at the same location.) Cost is $25 for members and $32 for non-members. To register visit http://www.catholicsatwork.org/EventDesc.aspx.

The US is faced with a growing health care crisis; the poor and uninsured can’t afford quality medical care. Not only is it extremely difficult for these people today, but the rising cost of healthcare is pushing underprivileged people further and further away from access to services that can save their life or the life of a family member. Catholic Healthcare is a major player in the US healthcare market, and provides disproportionate coverage to the poor and uninsured. Catholic Healthcare is also playing a role in reshaping the very fiber of the US healthcare system. Catholic Healthcare representatives are working with the healthcare community, to identify, define and provide practical, affordable solutions. While the issue of healthcare is often framed in the context of the poor, it touches everyone.

"Can you imagine what would happen to the total healthcare system in this country if Catholic Healthcare had to withdraw from the marketplace because they were being told that Catholic Values can no longer be the criterion for administering healthcare at Catholic hospitals?" asked Ms. Mary Jo Potter, Managing Partner of Highperlink.

"Bill and Mary Jo will surprise you with the role Catholic Healthcare is playing in the country to find a solution to an incredibly difficult and complex problem," said Alison Yount, vice president of Catholics@Work. "Healthcare is a subject that has or will touch all of us."