CHI marks its fifth anniversary

Health Progress, Jul/Aug 2001 by Shook, Randy, Fojut, Laurie

Shared Values and a Pioneer Spirit Unite One of the Nation's Largest Not-forProfit Systems

Just a little more than five years ago, Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), based in Denver, was a vision in the minds and hearts of the members of its founding congregations of women religious. Today. it is one of the nation's largest not-for-profit health systems and a model of how a modern religious-lay partnership can advance the health ministry of the Catholic church.

"When I look back at the beginning of CHI, I see two values that characterize our journey," said Sr. Maryanna Coyle, SC, chair of the Board of Stewardship Trustees of CHI. "The first is the trust we had in each other and in our shared gospel values. The second is the pioneer spirit-- the willingness to take risks-that has shaped our institutions from the beginning. Because three health care systems and 10 religious congregations were willing to embrace the vision, it became something that we believed we could accomplish."

The organization that celebrated its fifth anniversary on May 1, 2001, began as a consolidation of the former Catholic Health Corporation, Omaha; Franciscan Health System, Aston, PA.; and Sisters of Charity Health Care Systems, Cincinnati. A year later, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Health System, Bardstown, KY, merged with CHI, followed by the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Hankinson, ND, in March of 1998, which brought the total number of founding congregations to 12.

Today, CHI has not only knitted together the cultures, resources, and balance sheets of five different and geographically dispersed health systems, but has done so with a focus on high-quality care. This April, CHI was named the winner of the 2001 National Quality Health Care Award, which honors providers that improve health care through high-quality performance and innovative leadership. "We are thrilled by this recognition," said Patricia A. Cahill, JD, president and CEO of CHI. "We believe that it honors not only our organization, but all the partnerships that help us deliver high-quality care within our facilities and throughout the communities we serve."

EQUAL SPONSORSHIP PARTNERS

Mutual trust and a pioneer spirit were important in the early days of CHI because the organization was breaking new ground. The organization's Board of Stewardship Trustees, which serves as the canonical sponsor of its facilities, is divided equally between religious and lay members. In this way, CHI set a precedent by giving laity a sponsorship role in its facilities. "Serving as canonical sponsor can be a formidable challenge for lay members of the board," said Marjorie Beyers, RN, PhD, a health care consultant and a lay member of the board. "In contrast to wellestablished governance models, there were no rules or conventions to be followed. The partnership works because there is candid discussion of the issues and a strong sense of accountability to Catholic health care."

Trust was also essential because the women religious and lay leaders who composed the steering council that created CHI did not want to issue directives as to how the organization would be structured or managed. "It was as though we created a design, much like an architect does, but did not fill in the colors, shapes, or arrangements," said Sr. Coyle. "We recognized that those who would implement our design would need a certain amount of flexibility in order to make it a reality."

Sr. Peggy Martin, OP, JCL, was a member of the steering council and recently joined the CHI leadership team as senior vice president of sponsorship and governance. She believes the council's trust in CHI's leadership is being rewarded. "The leadership and staff pay great attention to our original mission and vision," she said. "Everyone constantly talks about the original intent of the women religious who founded CHI, and leadership ensures that the decisions made today are consistent with the steering council's intent."

ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL/LoCAL PARTNERSHIP

The foundresses envisioned CHI as a single national organization designed to serve its local facilities, which it calls "market-based organizations." CHI defines market-based organizations as the basic service units of its system. They provide direct health care services within defined market areas and are governed locally by a board of directors or trustees. Some are individual, standalone facilities, and others are integrated networks of different kinds of health care facilities.

Although the intent was always to have just two levels-national and local-within the CHI organization, that took some time to achieve. The facilities belonging to the predecessor systems had been loosely grouped into regions. Then, through a multistage process of restructuring, the organization simplified its structure into national and local levels of governance and management. "I think the evolution of CHI gives a message about the ability of our local and national leaders to work together in direct partnership," said Sr. Coyle.