Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services

by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

In these revised Directives, the bishops reaffirm the Church's commitment to health care ministry-and to the ethical standards of behavior that flow from the Church's teaching about the dignity of the human person. No. 7-154

Genres: Reference

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (USCC), it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic hierarchy (i.e., diocesan, coadjutor, and auxiliary bishops and the ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter) in the United States and the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands. In the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the bishops in the six dioceses form their own episcopal conference, the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference (Spanish, Conferencia Episcopal Puertorriqueña). The bishops in U.S. insular areas in the Pacific Ocean – the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Territory of American Samoa, and the Territory of Guam – are members of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (Latin, Conferentia Episcopalis Pacifici).

The USCCB adopted its current name in July 2001. The organization is a registered corporation based in Washington, D.C. As with all bishops' conferences, certain decisions and acts of the USCCB must receive the recognitio, or approval of the Roman dicasteries, which are subject to the immediate and absolute authority of the Pope.

Reviews

[Sofía Valle]

Every Catholic Healthcare employee should read this. Very helpful and affirms the faith within the workplace.

[Aaron Rapp]

Reading this helped me develop my own idea of what it means to be a patient advocate, which uses Our Lady as the model. Mary, the Mother of God, acts as an advocate for me, and the rest of the human race. She brings our needs to Jesus, even when we may not know what we need. In a similar fashion, I bring the needs of my patients to the physicians and the rest of the healthcare staff, even when they may not know what they need. For example, if I had a patient on the ICU who is sedated and intubated, I would ask the physicians for additional medication, if the patient was showing signs or symptoms of being in pain. Or, if I had a patient without stable housing in the Emergency Department, I would consult Case Management. Our social workers can help patients get entry into an emergency shelter. Simple but meaningful actions such as this exemplify what it means to provide patient advocacy.

In my opinion, the mission of Catholic Healthcare is best summarized in the "General Introduction"- To see Christian love as the animating principle of healthcare, to see healing as a continuation of Christ's mission, to see suffering as participation in the redemptive power of Christ's passion, and to see death as a final act of communion with Christ.

[Paul]

Very good read for any healthcare professional. Lays out some helpful guidelines that require prudential judgment.