Sullivan J M
Diocese of Brooklyn, NY.
Health Prog. 1993 Sep;74(7):56-9, 65.
The charitable acts of women religious in response to the needs of the communities in which they settled is one of the great chapters in the history of the Church in America. But in the past two decades providers have had to contend with extraordinary changes in the healthcare environment. The Catholic healthcare mission was rooted in concern for the poor. Should Catholic healthcare providers withdraw from this field in which they have had such a significant presence and have contributed so much, or be driven from healthcare by the fiscal consequences of fidelity to mission? Instead, through its reform proposal, the Catholic Health Association has recommended that Catholic providers become advocates of change. However, even if change, such as universal access to healthcare, is achieved, we shall still have a society in which there will be many poor people. The challenge will be to see that healthcare for the poor does not become poor healthcare. Although the changing urban environment presents enormous challenges to providers, the Catholic healthcare ministry is a significant presence in urban areas. Widespread poverty accompanied by behavioral problems and social breakdowns are significant factors affecting healthcare and healthcare costs. Drug addiction; AIDS; teenage pregnancy; homelessness; the deterioration of the family; and generations of unemployment, anomie, abuse, and violence, which are often most acute in concentrated neighborhoods of poverty, challenge the ability of Catholic hospitals to meet their community's needs. Catholic providers today have a real opportunity to bring about positive changes in healthcare. They have the history, experience, and will to preserve a Catholic presence in the provision of healthcare.
美国女修会会士为满足她们所定居社区的需求而开展的慈善活动，是美国教会历史上的重要篇章之一。但在过去二十年里，医疗服务提供者不得不应对医疗环境的巨大变化。天主教医疗使命植根于对穷人的关怀。天主教医疗服务提供者是应该退出这个他们曾占据显著地位并做出诸多贡献的领域，还是会因坚守使命的财务后果而被迫退出医疗行业呢？相反，通过其改革提议，天主教健康协会建议天主教服务提供者成为变革的倡导者。然而，即便实现了诸如全民医保这样的变革，我们的社会仍会有许多贫困人口。挑战在于确保穷人的医疗服务不会沦为劣质医疗。尽管不断变化的城市环境给医疗服务提供者带来了巨大挑战，但天主教医疗事工在城市地区仍占据重要地位。广泛存在的贫困，连同行为问题和社会崩溃，都是影响医疗服务及医疗成本的重要因素。药物成瘾、艾滋病、青少年怀孕、无家可归、家庭关系恶化，以及几代人面临的失业、社会失范、虐待和暴力问题，这些在贫困集中的社区往往最为严重，它们对天主教医院满足社区需求的能力构成了挑战。如今，天主教医疗服务提供者拥有实现医疗服务积极变革的切实机会。他们拥有历史、经验以及在医疗服务领域保持天主教影响力的意愿。
