The Administration has proposed a dangerous and unnecessary expansion of the definition of “public charge” when determining the eligibility of legal immigrants to apply for lawful permanent residency (LPR). Under the proposed rule, enrollment in the Medicaid program (and potentially the CHIP program) would prevent legal immigrants from attaining LPR, and force many to choose between vital health care coverage and the ability to adjust immigration status. Please urge the Department of Homeland Security not to finalize this harmful rule and ask your members of Congress to weigh in as well. A sample letter is available on e-Advocacy. [More]

The Sisters of Charity Health System stands with the Catholic Health Association of the United States in urging you to ask your senators to support HR 6082, the Overdose Prevention and Safety Act. The act would align substance use disorder (SUD) treatment records with existing patient protections under HIPAA for the purposes of treatment, payment and health care operations—removing decades-old regulations preventing doctors from knowing their patients’ addiction treatment histories. [More]

The Sisters of Charity Health System has named Janice G. Murphy, RN, BSN, MSN, FACHE as senior vice president of mission and ministry. In this role, she will give leadership and oversight to mission and values across the health system. She will oversee programs and processes to ensure the decisions, policies and programs of the health system and all operating units are consistent with the mission, philosophy, faith obligations and values of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, as well as the elements of Catholic identity and the social teachings of the Catholic Church.

Murphy’s career includes 40 years of health care leadership. She is currently serving as chief operating officer (COO) of regional hospitals and family health centers for the Cleveland Clinic. In this role since 2015, she has been responsible for the operations of 10 community hospitals, 21 family health centers, three freestanding emergency departments, and three health and wellness centers. Prior, she has served as COO of Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, president of Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital, president of Cleveland Clinic Fairview and Lakewood Hospitals, senior vice president and COO of Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital, and chief nursing officer of Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital. [More]

The summer fellows program at Catholic Community Connection gives local college students the chance to immerse themselves in a 10-week internship for one of several Cleveland-area Catholic-based organizations. This year, Tom McCartney, recent graduate of John Carroll University, stepped in to get his feet wet in public policy and advocacy with the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland (SOCF), as well as the Sisters of Charity Health System (SCHS). A funder of Catholic Community Connection’s first summer fellowship, the SOCF wants to focus more closely on public policy as part of its efforts to break the cycle of poverty. [More]

The House of Representatives recently passed the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act and the bill is now with the Senate for consideration. Please contact your senators today to urge them to support the same act in the Senate. This bipartisan bill would provide new resources for palliative care research, professional training, and education and outreach to help expand the availability of palliative care for all patients and families facing serious or life-threatening illness. [More]

On June 5, raids occurred at Corso's Flower and Garden Center in Sandusky and Castalia, Ohio, in Erie County. This area is a part of the Diocese of Toledo, the neighbor to the Diocese of Cleveland. One hundred fourteen of the migrants who worked at this facility were arrested and are being detained. Many of those who are now in the detention facilities have children and are members of parish communities. Please let your legislators know that the actions of ICE were inhumane and that there are more compassionate ways to respond, including comprehensive immigration reform. [More]

Sister Judith Ann Karam, CSA, congregational leader for the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, will be inducted into the Ohio Hospital Association (OHA) Health Care Hall of Fame at the annual OHA recognition dinner June 5 in Columbus. The OHA Hall of Fame honors men and women who have made extraordinary contributions to the delivery of health care for Ohioans. [More]

The House of Representatives recently introduced its version of the 2018 Farm Bill reauthorization (H.R. 2). The bill proposes significant changes to domestic nutrition programs, which could result in up to 2 million people losing access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Your voice is needed as the House is set to vote on the bill as early as next week. [More]

Ohio has joined a growing list of states that have requested permission to require certain Medicaid beneficiaries to work or complete other community-engagement activities as a condition of eligibility. The state estimates it would affect about 5 percent of the 700,000 people enrolled in the program as a result of Medicaid expansion. Documents the state prepared show that 18,000 people a year would lose Medicaid health benefits if the work requirement, known as the 1115 Demonstration Waiver, is put in place. [More]

Please ask your representatives and senators to co-sponsor HR 3545/S 1850, and to ensure that these bills are included in the upcoming opioid legislation. HR 3545/S 1850 would align current regulations for substance use disorder (SUD) records with existing patient protections for treatment, payment and health care operations, so that SUD and other medical records would be treated in the exact same way. This is essential to the work and mission of those treating patients with substance use disorders, and for their patients’ safety. [More]