by Lin McNulty
Islanders Gretchen Krampf and Jean Henigson hosted a public presentation on Thursday, August 15 at the Eastsound Fire Station. Those in attendance were there to hear San Juan Islander Monica Harrington (who runs a blog called CatholicWatch.org, and was involved with the group that voiced their concern over the Catholic connection with Peace Island Medical Center) explore the questions: (1) Will Catholic hospital mergers help us or hurt us? and (2) Will our options become limited by religious doctrine?
As reported in Orcas Issues in May, Cascade Valley Hospitals and Clinics, Island Hospital, and Skagit Regional Health issued a Request for Proposal for Affiliation Assistance and Support (Full Text HERE),
Responses have been received from four systems—PeaceHealth, Providence-Swedish, UW Medicine and Virginia Mason Medical Center. Full text of each of the responses are available for viewing by clicking the link. UW Medicine and Virginia Mason Medical Center are secular organizations, while PeaceHealth and Providence-Swedish are Catholic.
The attentive crowd listened and expressed concern about affiliation with a Catholic hospital as relates to end-of-life issues, embryonic stem cell treatment and research, and women’s reproductive rights. The ACLU reports that before the end of the year, 47 percent of Western Washington hospitals will be under Catholic control. Of particular concern is the legal issue of Washington law regarding taxpayer-funded public hospitals and religious non-profits. It is expected that a legal suit will be filed this Fall to address the issue of tax dollars funding religious organizations.
Hospital and theological directives come directly from the local Catholic Bishop for any health care facility associated with these non-secular organizations. PeaceHealth, noted Harrington, currently owns all of the medical labs in Bellingham and will no longer do lab work for Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood.
Orcas Island Medical Center is affiliated with and staffed by Island Hospital. The current contract runs two more years.
PeaceHealth Hospital in Friday Harbor was unable to send a representative to the meeting, and sent the following information to Orcas Issues in response.
PeaceHealth is a Catholic health care system bringing exceptional medicine to multiple Northwest communities, always with a concern for the most vulnerable. In keeping with our Catholic identity:
- PeaceHealth is committed to serving the poor and vulnerable as reflected in the services we provide.
- PeaceHealth is committed to providing health care services to any person seeking care whether they have health insurance coverage or not.
- PeaceHealth does not permit abortion except to save the life of the mother. Contraceptive decisions are between the patient and the health care provider.
- Emergency contraception is provided to women who are victims of sexual assault.
- RU-486 is an abortifacient and is not dispensed at PeaceHealth.
- PeaceHealth provides high quality compassionate care at the end of life. Withdrawal of medical treatment (e.g. hydration and nutrition, ventilator, pacemakers, antibiotics, and blood products) is appropriate if it is non-beneficial in meeting the patient’s goals.
- Physician-assisted suicide is prohibited. Physicians are prohibited from participation in the medical and psychiatric consultations on PeaceHealth time and in PeaceHealth facilities or any facility leased from PeaceHealth.
No matter where you stand on this issue, it is still possible to provide input and opinions before the hospital boards reach a final decision on August 29. Email addresses for Island Hospital board members can be found HERE.
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PeaceHealth is currently doing lab tests for Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood patients. Last year, PeaceHealth officials told Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood that the bishop had “requested” they no longer do tests for PP. The CEO and board said that was unacceptable, and for now, the tests are being done. However, according to CEO Linda McCarthy, there is no long-term commitment and the situation could change at any time.
As I recall when we were first told about the new hospital in Friday Harbor none of this information was shared — in fact much of it was presented with a very different set of understandings related to women’s health. Why is the Catholic Bishop now moving into the health directives of this island hospital? I for one think we may have been sold out!
Scary…Medical treatment based on any religious belief has no place in public healthcare. And locals must not be subjected to such practices. AMEN!!!
Christina Wright says, “It was brought to our attention there was an error in the information presented in the article. Just to clarify, the Bishop threatened to stop allowing PeaceHealth to provide lab services for Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood (MBPP) in March 2012, but as of today [Aug. 29, 2013] those lab services continue.
“Thank you for your attention to the matter.”
Christina Wright, Director of External Affairs at Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood