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Catholic Healthcare West Convenes National Experts for Healthcare Leadership Summit

Posted on: Tuesday, 12 February 2008, 15:00 CST

Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), the eighth largest healthcare system in the nation and the largest not-for-profit hospital provider in California, is tomorrow convening two-dozen leaders in business, academia, healthcare, labor, religion, and research for a think-tank style, invitation-only discussion designed to generate new ideas for reforming the U.S. healthcare system.

"Today's reform debate typically focuses on improving the management of finances or the efficiency of clinical services," CHW president/chief executive officer Lloyd H. Dean said. "We are concerned that this emphasis, though very important, is insufficient."

"The Summit will begin the examination of healthcare reform through the lens of values, exploring the key role that compassion plays in healthcare and how it should be incorporated into any comprehensive judgment of reforms," Dean continued. "How we value healthcare will determine the structure of how we provide it and who is eligible to receive it."

The Healthcare Leadership Summit, held at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, is being co-chaired and co-moderated by Leon Panetta, director of the Leon and Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy and former White House Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton, and Lloyd H. Dean, president/chief executive officer of Catholic Healthcare West.

"I applaud Catholic Healthcare West for convening this Summit," said Panetta. "Healthcare is one of the great pressing issues of our time and has emerged as a key issue this year. The Summit objective is to help reframe the reform debate by focusing on the fundamental question of how a compassionate society should provide healthcare for its members. By establishing key principles, CHW hopes to provide a policy platform to make the debate more meaningful in terms of quality, access and affordability."

Advisors for the Healthcare Leadership Summit include: Louis W. Sullivan, MD, President Emeritus, Morehouse School of Medicine and Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Ann Neale, PhD, Senior Research Scholar, Center for Clinical Bioethics Georgetown University; Lori Mosca, MD, MPH, PhD, Director of Preventive Cardiology and Associate Professor of Medicine, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons; Robert Ross, President, The California Endowment; and Steven Bodhaine, Group President, Yankelovich, Inc.

Additional participants include the Chief Executive Officers of the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, the Catholic Health Association of the United States, the Commonwealth Fund, and the SEIU.

Following the Summit, Catholic Healthcare West will develop a policy paper that will outline the principles that characterize a compassionate healthcare system. This spring, CHW will also produce its second annual CHW Health Security Index, a tool that reveals how Americans perceive their health security. The 2007 research revealed a national health security ranking of 66 out of a possible 100, suggesting a mixed and troubling portrait of health security in the United States. The 2008 findings will be released April 6th in Washington, D.C. at a Congressional Briefing and press conference.

Editor's note: The Healthcare Leadership Summit will be closed to the public and to reporters in order to encourage open dialogue. However, certain participants may be available for interviews following the meeting. Please contact Tricia Griffin at 415-438-5524 for information.

About Catholic Healthcare West

Founded in 1986, the CHW network of more than 8,500 physicians and approximately 50,000 employees serve a population spanning 22 million people at 41 hospitals across California, Arizona, and Nevada. CHW is committed to delivering compassionate, high-quality, affordable healthcare services with special attention to the poor and underserved. In 2007 CHW provided $922 million in charity care, community benefits, and unreimbursed patient care. Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) is the eighth largest hospital system in the nation and the largest not-for-profit hospital provider in California. For more information, please visit our website at www.chwHEALTH.org.

 Contact: Tricia Griffin Catholic Healthcare West (415) 438-5524  

SOURCE: Catholic Healthcare West

Source: MARKET WIRE

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