O'Rourke K D
Center for Health Care Ethics, Saint Louis University, USA.
Health Prog. 1997 Mar-Apr;78(2):34-8, 43.
Pope Paul VI described the church as the "leaven" of civil society. Catholic healthcare should strive to be the leaven of U.S. healthcare. To achieve this, it must do five things: Immerse itself in civil society. Catholic healthcare professionals and organizations should participate in efforts to improve public health, even when they are not in full agreement with those efforts. Provide high-quality care. Such care is not always easy to define, but Catholic healthcare can and should set high objective standards for the well-being of its patients. Minister to the suffering and dying. The Catholic view of suffering and death as necessary for human fulfillment is a countercultural idea in our society. Catholic healthcare should, while eliminating physical pain when possible, help people to die in a holy atmosphere. Be a responsible, just employer. Catholic healthcare should treat employees as individuals worthy of respect, not as economic units. Be advocates for the poor. Catholic healthcare should not only provide charity care for the poor; it should also work for universal coverage, care based on need rather than on ability to pay for it.
教皇保罗六世将教会描述为公民社会的“酵母”。天主教医疗保健应努力成为美国医疗保健的酵母。要做到这一点，它必须做五件事：融入公民社会。天主教医疗保健专业人员和组织应参与改善公共卫生的努力，即使他们并不完全认同这些努力。提供高质量的护理。这种护理并不总是容易定义，但天主教医疗保健能够而且应该为患者的福祉设定高目标标准。为受苦和垂死之人提供服务。天主教将苦难和死亡视为人类实现圆满所必需的观点在我们的社会中是一种反文化观念。天主教医疗保健应在尽可能消除身体疼痛的同时，帮助人们在神圣的氛围中离世。成为一个负责任、公正的雇主。天主教医疗保健应将员工视为值得尊重的个体，而非经济单位。为穷人发声。天主教医疗保健不仅应为穷人提供慈善护理；还应努力实现全民医保，即基于需求而非支付能力的护理。
