The Catholic Health Association has recently completed the reconstruction the St. Francis de Sales Hospital in Haiti, restoring and improving health services for the poor there.
Sister Carol Keehan, President and CEO of the Catholic Health Association or CHA, explains, "Members of the Catholic Health Association donated more than $10.1 million to the reconstruction of St. Francis de Sales Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, destroy in the 2010 earthquake."
"St. Francis de Sales Hospital, founded in 1881, has been the principal health care provider for the poorest and most vulnerable people of the Haitian capital," she adds.
"The new hospital is a vitally important part of rebuilding the community of Port-au-Prince and ensuring that its people can receive the medical care and attention they need," she concludes.
On Friday, January 23, 2015 at noon Eastern Sister Keehan will join me for a live discussion about the impact of reopening the hospital in Port-au-Prince. Tune in here then to watch the interview live.
You can download an audio podcast here or subscribe via iTunes.
More about the Catholic Health Association:
The Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), founded in 1915, supports the Catholic health ministry's commitment to improve the health status of communities and create quality and compassionate health care that works for everyone. The Catholic health ministry is the nation's largest group of not-for-profit health systems and facilities that, along with their sponsoring organizations, employ more than 750,000 women and men who deliver services combining advanced technology with the Catholic caring tradition.
Sister Carol Keehan's bio:
Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, is the ninth president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA). She assumed her duties as of October 2005. She is responsible for all association operations and leads CHA's staff at offices in Washington, DC, where she is based, and in St. Louis. Sr. Carol worked in administrative and governance positions at hospitals sponsored by the Daughters of Charity for more than 35 years. Prior to joining CHA, she was the board chair of Ascension Health's Sacred Heart Health System, Pensacola, Fla. Previously, she served for 15 years as president and chief executive officer of Providence Hospital, which includes Carroll Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in Washington, DC. In the early 1980s, she served as Providence Hospital's vice president for nursing, ambulatory care, and education and training. In addition, she has served in leadership positions at Sacred Heart Hospital, Cumberland, Md., and Sacred Heart Children's Hospital and Regional Perinatal Intensive Care Center, Pensacola, Fla. Sr. Carol has held influential roles in the governance of a variety of health care, insurance and educational organizations. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine. She had been a representative to the International Federation of Catholic Health Care Associations of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Health Care. She serves on the board of Catholic Relief Services, Baltimore, Md. She has served on the boards of the Catholic Health Association of the United States, of which she is a past chairperson; Catholic Healthcare Partners, Cincinnati; St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore; Mercy Health System, Miami; Catholic Healthcare Audit Network, Clayton, Mo.;
and SOAR! (Support Our Aging Religious), Silver Spring, Md. In addition, she has been a member of several health, labor and domestic policy committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC, and serves on the finance committee of the Archdiocese of Washington.Currently Sr. Carol serves on the boards of St. John's University, Queens, N.Y., and Georgetown University, Washington, DC. She has served on the boards of the District of Columbia Hospital Association, of which she is a past chair; Care First/Blue Cross of Maryland and the National Capital Area, Owings Mills, Md., and its affiliate, Group Hospitalization and Medical Services, Inc. In addition, she has previously served on the nominating committee of the American Hospital Association; the finance committee of the Maryland Hospital Association; and is a past chair of the Florida State Human
Rights Advocacy Commission. Her numerous awards and honors include the American Hospital Association's Trustee Award; the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (Cross for the Church and Pontiff), bestowed by Pope Benedict XVI; the American Cardinals' Encouragement Award; the Medal of Honor and the Monsignor George C. Higgins Labor Advocacy Award from the Archdiocese of Washington; the
Seton Legacy of Charity Medal awarded by The Daughters of Charity Emmitsburg Province; LCWR 2011 Outstanding Leadership Award, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Silver Spring, Md.; the Elizabeth Ann Seton Award, given by SOAR!, Silver Spring, Md.; the Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Award from Catholic Common Ground Initiative, New York; the 2009 Vision Award from Catholic Charities USA; and the Friend of Children Award from Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC. Sr. Carol was named in 2010 one of TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" and has been on Modern Healthcare's list of "100 Most Influential People in Healthcare" several years, having topped the list as number one in 2007. Sr. Carol received honorary doctorates from Niagara University, NY.; the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass.; St. John's University, Queens, N.Y.; The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC; Marymount University, Arlington, Va; and from DePaul University, Chicago. She earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing from St. Joseph's College,
Emmitsburg, Md., where she graduated magna cum laude, and a master of science degree in business administration from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C., from which she received the School of Business Distinguished Alumna Award in 2000 and was honored in 2009 as "an outstanding alumna who has served others in a manner that goes beyond what is required by the individual's job or profession."
