Supportive Care Coalition member organizations recognize that they were established to respond to community need. The early sisters who founded our facilities arrived in this country to deal with epidemics, to care for the poor and to comfort the dying. Today's Catholic hospitals and long-term care programs continue this commitment to community service that began nearly 300 years ago. They are charitable institutions reaching out to low-income and other vulnerable persons in order to improve access to health care and engaging in activities designed to make our communities healthier, more compassionate places to live, work, and contribute.

MINISTRY TRADITION
"As members of the Catholic health ministry, our foundations are based upon social justice teachings that respect the human dignity of each person, acknowledge the importance of the common good, have special concern for low-income and other vulnerable persons, and call for responsible stewardship of resources. Because of this, the Catholic health ministry has a long-standing commitment to ensure that every patient has access to quality care, regardless of ability to pay. Every year, Catholic hospitals provide care to thousands of patients who cannot afford health care coverage and contribute to the overall health and well being of their local communities through outreach services and programs that specifically address identified community needs." Catholic Health Association Community Benefit Web Site


ACTIVITIES
Supportive Care Coalition joins The Catholic Health Association (CHA) in welcoming the opportunity to tell the story that Catholic health care facilities continue to be charitable community benefit organizations deserving of preferential tax status. Our facilities provide a wide array of services for low-income and other vulnerable persons and for their broader communities.

Some of the services provided through Palliative Care and End-of -Life Programs include:

• Free and discounted care to those who cannot afford to pay for health care.
• Clinics, mobile vans, and other community-based services.
• Health education and promotion.
• Community Advance Directive education and support.
• Subsidized services (e.g. palliative care teams; non-hospice bereavement support; home support for those who do not qualify for reimbursement). These are provided because they are needed by the community .
• Health professional education (eg. ELNEC, EPEC, IPPC).
• Palliative Care and Hospice Volunteer training.

The Catholic Health Association, in partnership with community benefit leaders in Catholic health systems and facilities, and other national organizations including Supportive Care Coalition, is involved in a number of initiatives to support community benefit programs: 

• Identifying and promoting successful practices for greater access to care and improving community health status.
• Increasing the credibility and consistency of community benefit reporting by achieving consensus and standardization for counting and reporting community benefits.
• Improving the ability to measure the outcome and impact of community benefit programs.

CHA also has developed a monograph on not-for-profit health care, Beyond Charity Care: Today's Tax-Exempt Community Health Care to help policy makers understand the significant contribution of tax-exempt mission-driven health care.