Outward symbols show its roots in CatholiC tradition

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Aug 16, 2008

By DeBBie kelley

The GazeTTe

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The 21-foot-tall bronze statue of St. Francis of Assisi is hard to miss on the drive into the St. Francis Medical Center campus. So are the crucifixes in each patient room and the prayers broadcast twice daily over loudspeakers.

The outward religious symbols at the city's newest hospital reflect an inner philosophy that guides medical care and treatment at all Catholic hospitals.

From St. Francis Medical Center's mission of "extending the healing ministry of Christ" to a directive to care for the poor -- meaning that about 19 percent of the hospital's budget is earmarked for charity and uncompensated care -- faith-based principles approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops distinguish it as a Catholic hospital.

But patients don't have to be Catholic or have any religious inclinations to use the facilities, said Larry Seidl, vice president of mission integration for Penrose-St. Francis Health Services.

The nonprofit health care system is managed by Centura Health, a joint venture of Catholic Health Initiatives and PorterCare Adventist Health System, and owned by Catholic Health Initiatives, which ranked last year as the largest Catholic health care system in the U.S.

"We do not tolerate proselytizing," he said. "There was probably another era where faith-based hospitals were thought to be better. Now it's more that we're different. When someone comes here we say these are our values, what are your values and how can we value together? We're not strong-armed about it."

St. Francis Medical Center uses a holistic approach to health care by treating the body, mind and spirit, and focusing on wellness and preventive approaches to remain healthy, he said.

"Being in a hospital is a wake-up call, and we feel we have a unique contribution coming out of faith that helps us look at those life issues," Seidl said. "It's amazing how many people, when they're sick, want a sense of being grounded, or that there's something bigger."

Chaplains representing eight denominations are available for patients and encompass Catholic, Protestant, conservative and liberal leanings, he said. Representatives from other faiths are also available, such as a rabbi for Jewish patients and an imam for Muslim patients. Kosher meals for Jewish patients and special dietary requests of Muslims can also be accommodated.

Catholic Mass is broadcast daily over the hospital's television channel, and the opening of St. Francis Medical Center will bring weekly broadcasts of various local Protestant services, as well, Seidl said. Another television channel for patients and families airs sacred music and images of nature.

Staff also can pray with patients who desire it.

The Catholic directives also mean that elective abortion is not done in Catholic-sponsored facilities. Patients who experience "fetal demise" -- the loss of the fetus during pregnancy -- are offered a burial opportunity. In nonfaith-based hospitals, the undeveloped fetus becomes medical waste, Seidl said.

Sterilization procedures, such as tubal ligation, are done on a case-by-case basis, considering the woman's health condition, said Dr. Jeffrey Oram-Smith, chief medical officer for Penrose-St. Francis Health Services.

Pharmacies in Catholic health care facilities do not stock contraceptives, including emergency treatments such as the "morning- after pill," Oram-Smith said, but physicians can prescribe such drugs for patients and obtain them from an off-site pharmacy.

"In today's health care environment, so often our products are identical -- the machines, the procedures," Seidl said. "What separates a faith-based organization is not the products, it's the story. Our story is the Christ story, and it inffuences the way we think and how we do what we do."