Dignity Health

Last updated
Dignity Health
FormerlyCatholic Healthcare West (1986–2012)
Company type Nonprofit organization
Industry Healthcare
Founded1986;38 years ago (1986)
Headquarters China Basin Landing, ,
Number of locations
39 acute care hospitals
250 ancillary care sites
Area served
Arizona, California, and Nevada
Key people
Lloyd H. Dean, President/CEO
Daniel J. Morissette, CFO
Services Hospital management
RevenueIncrease2.svg$10,522,568,000 USD (2012)
Increase2.svg$59,112,000 USD (2012)
Increase2.svg$132,549,000 USD (2012)
Owner CommonSpirit Health
Number of employees
55,000
Website dignityhealth.org
Footnotes /references
2012 Audited Financial Statement
About Dignity Health
China Basin, the headquarters of Dignity Health China Basin Landing.jpg
China Basin, the headquarters of Dignity Health

Dignity Health (formerly Catholic Healthcare West) is a California-based not-for-profit public-benefit corporation that operated hospitals and ancillary care facilities in three states. Dignity Health was the fifth-largest hospital system in the nation and the largest not-for-profit hospital provider in California. [1]

Contents

Formerly a Catholic institution, the organization went independent in 2012 and adopted its new name. In February 2019, Dignity Health merged with Catholic Health Initiatives, becoming CommonSpirit Health. [2]

Its headquarters are located in the China Basin Landing building in San Francisco. [3]

History

Catholic Healthcare West was founded in 1986, when the Sisters of Mercy Burlingame Regional Community and the Sisters of Mercy Auburn Regional Community merged their health care ministries into one organization. [4] [5]

In 2010, Dignity Health, Blue Shield of California, and Hill Physicians Medical Group formed an Accountable Care Organization that covers 41,000 individuals in the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). [6]

From the time of its founding until 2012, the company was an official ministry of the Catholic Church. [7] [8] In 2012, the company's corporate governance structure changed, moving it out of the Catholic Church's purview and resulting in a name change to Dignity Health. [7] [8] [9]

Adeptus Health partnered with Dignity Health to establish the Dignity Health Arizona General Hospital in Laveen, Arizona. [10]

In 2018, Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives received approval from the Catholic Church, through the Vatican, to merge. [11] The merger was completed, on February 1, 2019, under a new name, CommonSpirit Health, [12] forming the second-largest nonprofit hospital chain in the United States. [13]

Dignity Health was the official health care provider of the San Francisco Giants. [14]

Governance

The Board of Directors [15] was responsible for approving major decisions affecting Dignity Health’s health care business, such as long-range strategic plans, the allocation of capital, joint ventures, and major acquisitions and sales. Dignity Health's Board of Directors are:

Sponsorship council

Although Dignity Health is not a Catholic institution, the organization owned and operated 24 Catholic hospitals. While overall fiscal responsibility for these hospitals rests with the Board of Directors, certain reserve rights are still held by the religious orders that founded them. The Sponsorship Council [16] comprised sisters from each of the six Catholic religious communities that first opened each of the Catholic hospitals owned by Dignity Health. Each community selected one woman to act as one of the six members of the Sponsorship Council. The six Catholic religious communities were represented by:[ citation needed ]

Controversies

On December 21, 2010, Bishop Thomas Olmsted of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix declared that a Catholic Healthcare West hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, could no longer call itself a Catholic institution after a procedure was performed in 2009 to end a pregnancy to save a woman’s life. [17] In a public statement, Bishop Olmsted said the procedure was in contrast to a direct abortion, [18] which is in direct violation of The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. [19]

In a statement, St. Joseph’s President Linda Hunt said the hospital would comply with Olmsted’s decision, but she defended the actions of the hospital staff, stating, "If we are presented with a situation in which a pregnancy threatens a woman’s life, our first priority is to save both patients. If that is not possible, we will always save the life we can save, and that is what we did in this case. Morally, ethically, and legally, we simply cannot stand by and let someone die whose life we might be able to save." [20] The story made national headlines. [21]

Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association of the United States, defended St. Joseph’s decision to terminate the pregnancy. "They had been confronted with a heartbreaking situation," she said in a formal statement. "They carefully evaluated the patient’s situation and correctly applied the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services to it, saving the only life that was possible to save." [22]

In 2012, trustees of Ashland Community Hospital in Ashland, Oregon, invited Dignity Health to acquire it for debt. Community members raised concerns about the possible takeover, pointing to restrictions in Dignity's Statement of Common Values [23] that might mean that the hospital would no longer offer abortion services, or euthanasia services under Oregon's 1997 Death With Dignity Act. [24] Asked by Ashland mayor John Stromberg if the Statement of Common Values could be modified, Dignity Vice-President for Ethics and Justice Education Carol Bayley told community members, "As far as loosening it, don't hold out hope. We have our feet in Catholic mud, there is no denying it." [24] Facing increasing community opposition, Dignity Health ceased negotiations without explanation on October 30, 2012. [25]

Dignity Health was included by California Attorney General Kamala Harris on the antitrust investigation, launched in September 2012, into whether growing consolidation in the state's hospitals and physician groups was driving up the health care costs. [26]

As of summer 2018, Dignity Health did not provide many services considered routine by non-religious providers, including some emergency procedures. Dignity Health has cited the "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services" as its guideline in approving or refusing medical procedures. [27] [28] That document is prepared by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is not a medical organization. A particular controversy results from Dignity Health's non-Catholic marketing style, and unclear representations of which facilities are and are not considered Catholic. [29]

In August 2024, Dignity Health and Mercy San Juan Medical Center were sued for "malicious and outrageous" conduct by the family of Jessie Peterson. They had been told in April 2023 that Peterson had checked out of the hospital, when in fact she had died in the care of Mercy San Juan. The hospital had then shipped Peterson's body to a storage facility, and did not inform her family. The family did not learn of Peterson's death until April 2024. When Peterson's body was recovered, it was too decayed to determine if her death was the result of medical malpractice. [30]

Hospitals

Dignity Health operates 40 hospitals—24 Catholic and 15 non-Catholic: [31]

HospitalCityStateFoundedAcquiredAcquired from
Barrow Neurological Institute Phoenix Arizona 19611986Mercy Health System
Chandler Regional Medical Center Chandler Arizona 19611999 [32]
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center Gilbert Arizona 20062006
St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center Phoenix Arizona 18951986Mercy Health System
St. Joseph’s Westgate Medical Center Glendale Arizona 20142014 [33]
Yavapai Regional Medical Center Prescott Arizona 2020 [34]
Arroyo Grande Community Hospital Arroyo Grande California 19622004 [35] Universal Health Services
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield California 19561996
California Hospital Medical Center Los Angeles California 18871998UniHealth
Community Hospital of San Bernardino San Bernardino California 19101998
Dominican Hospital Santa Cruz California 19411988 Adrian Dominican Sisters
French Hospital Medical Center San Luis Obispo California 19462004 [35] Universal Health Services
Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center Glendale California 19261998UniHealth
Marian Regional Medical Center Santa Maria California 19401997 Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity
Mark Twain St. Joseph's Hospital San Andreas California 19511996 Dominican Sisters of San Rafael
Mercy General Hospital Sacramento California 18971986Mercy Healthcare
Mercy Hospital of Folsom Folsom California 19621986Mercy Healthcare
Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield, Southwest Campus Bakersfield California 19921992
Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield, Truxtun Campus Bakersfield California 19101986Mercy Health System
Mercy Medical Center Merced Merced California 19231996 Racine Dominican Sisters
Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta Mt. Shasta California 1986Mercy Healthcare
Mercy Medical Center Redding Redding California 1986Mercy Healthcare
Mercy San Juan Medical Center Carmichael California 19671986Mercy Healthcare
Methodist Hospital of Sacramento Sacramento California 19731992
Northridge Hospital Medical Center Los Angeles California 19551998UniHealth
Saint Francis Memorial Hospital San Francisco California 19061993
Sequoia Hospital Redwood City California 19501996Sequoia Healthcare District
Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Grass Valley California 19581996
St. Bernardine Medical Center San Bernardino California 19311996 [36] Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word
St. Elizabeth Community Hospital Red Bluff California 19061995Sisters of Mercy, Omaha Regional Community
St. John's Hospital Camarillo Camarillo California 19741994
St. John's Regional Medical Center Oxnard California 19121986Mercy Health System
St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Center Stockton California 19881996 Dominican Sisters of San Rafael
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton California 18991996 Dominican Sisters of San Rafael
St. Mary Medical Center Long Beach California 19231996 [36] Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word
St. Mary's Medical Center San Francisco California 18571986Mercy Health System
Woodland Healthcare Woodland California 19051996
St. Rose Dominican Hospital – Rose de Lima Campus Henderson Nevada 19471988 Adrian Dominican Sisters
St. Rose Dominican Hospital – San Martín Campus Spring Valley Nevada 20062006
St. Rose Dominican Hospital – Siena Campus Henderson Nevada 20002000

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Conference of Catholic Bishops</span> American Catholic episcopal conference

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 in the United States and the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CHI St. Alexius Health Bismarck</span> Hospital in North Dakota, United States

Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) St. Alexius Health Bismarck is a regional, acute care medical center offering inpatient and outpatient medical services, including primary and specialty physician clinics, home health and hospice services, medical equipment services, and a fitness and human performance center. It is a level II trauma center. With a tertiary hospital in Bismarck, the system also consists of critical access hospitals (CAHs) in Carrington, ND, Dickinson, ND, Devils Lake, ND, Garrison, ND, Turtle Lake, ND, Washburn, ND and Williston, ND, and numerous clinics and outpatient services. CHI St. Alexius Health manages four CAHs in North Dakota - Elgin, ND, Linton, ND and Wishek, ND, as well as Mobridge Regional Medical Center in Mobridge, South Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercy Medical Center (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)</span> Hospital in Iowa, United States

Mercy Medical Center is a Catholic hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The smaller of two metro hospitals, Mercy frequently ranks as either the best in Iowa or one of the top three. Mercy is a non-profit, acute-care medical center with a level III trauma center. Mercy Cedar Rapids is independent and not directly associated with other Mercy hospitals across the state and country. In addition to the non-profit hospital and clinics, Mercy operates outpatient and urgent-care clinics in a for-profit partnership with MercyCare Community Physicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's Regional Medical Center (California)</span> Hospital in California, United States

St. John's Regional Medical Center is a hospital located in Oxnard, California in the United States, and is operated by Dignity Health, along with its sister hospital, St. John's Hospital Camarillo in Camarillo. The hospital was founded in 1912.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Medical Center (San Francisco)</span> Hospital in Stanyan St. San Francisco, CA

UCSF Health St. Mary's Hospital is a hospital in San Francisco, California, US. It is currently operated by University of California, San Francisco.

Mercy Health, formerly Catholic Health Partners, is a Catholic health care system with locations in Ohio and Kentucky. Cincinnati-based Mercy Health operates more than 250 healthcare organizations in Ohio and Kentucky. Mercy Health is the second largest health system in Ohio and the state's fourth-largest employer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Health Initiatives</span> Faith-based hospital network in the United States

Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) was a national Catholic healthcare system, with headquarters in Englewood, Colorado. CHI was a nonprofit, faith-based health system formed, in 1996, through the consolidation of three Catholic health systems. It was one of the United States' largest healthcare systems. In February 2019, CHI merged with Dignity Health, forming CommonSpirit Health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashland Community Hospital (Oregon)</span> Hospital in Oregon, United States

Asante Ashland Community Hospital is a hospital in Ashland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1907, it is part of the Asante Health System. In 2012, it explored an affiliation with Dignity Health, with the latter stopping negotiations in October 2012 over some resistance to the plan. On November 15, 2012, Ashland Community Hospital chose to partner with Asante, the owner of Three Rivers Medical Center and Rogue Regional Medical Center, to build a stronger financial base for the hospital. Ashland's city council approved the transfer to Asante in June 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CHI Health</span>

CHI Health is a regional healthcare network headquartered in Omaha. The combined organization consists of 28 hospitals, two stand-alone behavioral health facilities, and more than 150 employed physician practices in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and North Dakota. CHI Health is part of CommonSpirit Health and is legally designated a non-profit organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Health</span> American health system

Trinity Health is an American not-for-profit Catholic health system operating 92 hospitals in 22 states, including 120 continuing care locations encompassing home care, hospice, PACE and senior living facilities. Based in Livonia, Michigan, Trinity Health employs more than 120,000 people including 5,300 physicians.

The official teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1992 oppose all forms of abortion procedures whose direct purpose is to destroy a zygote, blastocyst, embryo or fetus, since it holds that "human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life". However, the Church does recognize as morally legitimate certain acts which indirectly result in the death of the fetus, as when the direct purpose is removal of a cancerous womb. Canon 1397 §2 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law imposes automatic excommunication on Latin Catholics who actually procure an abortion, if they fulfill the conditions for being subject to such a sanction. Eastern Catholics are not subject to automatic excommunication, but by canon 1450 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches they are to be excommunicated by decree if found guilty of the same action, and they may be absolved of the sin only by the eparchial bishop. In addition to teaching that abortion is immoral, the Catholic Church also generally makes public statements and takes actions in opposition to its legality.

The excommunication of Margaret McBride occurred with the sanctioning by the American religious sister Margaret McBride in November 2009 of an abortion at a Roman Catholic hospital, the St. Joseph's Hospital, in Phoenix. It was lifted in December 2011. Her decision and her subsequent excommunication aroused controversy in the areas of medical ethics and Catholic theology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercy Medical Center (Springfield, Massachusetts)</span> Hospital in Massachusetts, United States

Mercy Medical Center is located in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded by the Sisters of Providence Health System, Mercy Hospital is a faith-based, non-profit organization serving patients regardless of background or beliefs. Mercy Medical Center is known for its tradition of holistic health care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agnes Mary Mansour</span> American Roman Catholic nun (1931–2004)

Agnes Mary Mansour was an American former Catholic nun, as well as a politician and public official. She is known for having been given a choice from the Vatican in 1983 to end her religious vows or to resign from her position as the director of the Michigan Department of Social Services, which required her to support and allocate public funding for abortions. The controversy involved her belief that abortion was tragic but should be legal, despite her vows as a religious and the teachings of the Catholic Church.

POLST is an approach to improving end-of-life care in the United States, encouraging providers to speak with the severely ill and create specific medical orders to be honored by health care workers during a medical crisis. POLST began in Oregon in 1991 and currently exists in 46 states, British Columbia, and South Korea. The POLST document is a standardized, portable, brightly colored single page medical order that documents a conversation between a provider and an individual with a serious illness or frailty towards the end of life. A POLST form allows emergency medical services to provide treatment that the individual prefers before possibly transporting to an emergency facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church and health care</span> Relationship between the Catholic Church and health care

The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of health care services in the world. It has around 18,000 clinics, 16,000 homes for the elderly and those with special needs, and 5,500 hospitals, with 65 percent of them located in developing countries. In 2010, the Church's Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers said that the Church manages 26% of the world's health care facilities. The Church's involvement in health care has ancient origins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Maternity Hospital, Dublin</span> Hospital in Dublin, Ireland

The National Maternity Hospital, popularly known as Holles Street Hospital, is a large maternity hospital in Ireland. It is at the eastern corner of Merrion Square, at its junction with Holles Street and Lower Mount Street in Dublin. It is managed by Ireland East Hospital Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CommonSpirit Health</span> Hospital network in the United States

CommonSpirit Health is a health system based in the United States, the country's largest Catholic hospital chain and its second-largest nonprofit hospital chain. It operates more than 700 care sites and 142 hospitals in 21 states.

Ascension is a large private healthcare system in the United States. Ascension had 142,000 employees, 142 hospitals, and 40 senior living facilities operating in 19 states and the District of Columbia as of the end of 2021. Ascension is the largest nonprofit and largest Catholic health system in the United States. It also operates a conglomerate of for-profit firms, including subsidiaries involved in private equity, venture capital, insurance, medical software, and pharmacy delivery. From 2014 to 2017 it co-owned a facility in the Cayman Islands.

<i>Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services</i> 1971 US healthcare policy document

Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs) is a publication that sets policy in Catholic hospitals and health systems. The document is written and published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The document derives medical and healthcare policy from Catholic theology and church teaching.

References

  1. "About Dignity Health" (PDF).
  2. Chandler, Michele. "Merger of Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives is approved". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  3. "Contact Us" Dignity Health. Retrieved on August 2, 2018. "Dignity Health 185 Berry Street, Suite 300 San Francisco, CA 94107"
  4. "Dignity Health History".
  5. "Dignity Health merging with Colorado's Catholic Health Initiatives". Daily Democrat. 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  6. "Accountable Care Organization Featuring Shared Global Risk Stimulates Development of Initiatives To Improve Care, Reduces Inpatient Use and Costs". Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-09.
  7. 1 2 Gamble, Molly (23 January 2012). "Catholic Healthcare West is Now Dignity Health". Beckers Hospital Review. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  8. 1 2 "Catholic Healthcare West becomes Dignity Health". SFGate. 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  9. "Dignity Governance Press Release" (PDF).
  10. Dignity Health, Adeptus Health announce joint venture. Shannon Barnet. October 23, 2014. Becker's. December 8, 2015.
  11. "CHI-Dignity merger cleared by Vatican". Modern Healthcare. 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  12. HealthLeaders. "Dignity Health, CHI Finalize $29B CommonSpirit Health Megamerger". Health Leaders. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  13. "The steep challenge facing Chicago's newest health care giant" by Stephanie Goldberg; Chicago Business; May 3, 2019; accessed December 29, 2019.
  14. Raven, Jonathan (2020-01-22). "Medi-Cal patients left high and dry by Dignity Health | Another View". Daily Democrat. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  15. "Dignity Health Board of Directors" (PDF).
  16. "Dignity Health Sponsors" (PDF).
  17. "Phoenix diocese strips St. Joseph's Hospital of Catholic status". archive.azcentral.com.
  18. "Statements from the Diocese of Phoenix and St. Joseph's". archive.azcentral.com.
  19. "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, November 2009" (PDF).
  20. "Ariz. hospital loses Catholic status over abortion case - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com.
  21. "Hospital Stripped of Catholic Status After Abortion". ABC News.
  22. Mann, Benjamin; Writer, Staff. "Catholic Health Association defies Phoenix bishop over abortion case". Catholic News Agency.
  23. "Dignity Health Statement of Common Values" (PDF). Dignity Health. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  24. 1 2 "Abortion, physician-assisted suicide dominate forum". Ashland Daily Tidings. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  25. "Dignity Health ends deal with Ashland Community Hospital". Ashland Daily Tidings. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  26. Mathews, Anna Wilde (September 18, 2012). "Dignity Health included in AG's inquiry". Ashland Daily Tidings (Reprinted from Wall Street Journal). Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  27. Hiltzik, Michael (2016-01-11). "Here's another case of a Catholic hospital interfering with patient care". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2018-08-12.
  28. "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services" (PDF). usccb.org. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2009. Retrieved 2018-08-12.
  29. Hafner, Katie (2018-08-10). "As Catholic Hospitals Expand, So Do Limits on Some Procedures". New York Times. Retrieved 2018-08-12.
  30. Wu, Daniel (21 August 2024). "She died in a hospital. Her mom wasn't told for a year, lawsuit alleges". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  31. "Dignity Health Hospital List".
  32. Chandler Regional, Catholic Healthcare merge complete
  33. "St. Joseph's Westgate Medical Center - Arizona Hospitals - Dignity Health". www.dignityhealth.org.
  34. Ellison, Ayla (2020-11-05). "2 Arizona hospitals join Dignity Health". www.beckershospitalreview.com. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  35. 1 2 "Two Hospitals Sold to Healthcare Company". 1 April 2004 via LA Times.
  36. 1 2 "Catholic Chain to Buy 2 Southland Hospitals". 22 February 1996 via LA Times.