Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
August 16, 2010

Catholic and other church-owned health systems demonstrate greater quality and efficiency than not-for-profit or investor-owned systems, according to a new analysis by Thomson Reuters. The analysis released Aug. 9 divided 255 U.S. health systems into four ownership categories and then compared them according to eight performance measures, including mortality rates, complications, patient safety, readmission rates and average length of stay. "Catholic and other church-owned systems are significantly more likely to provide higher quality performance and efficiency to the communities served than investor-owned systems," said a report prepared by David Foster of Thomson Reuters' Center for Healthcare Improvement in Ann Arbor, Mich. "Catholic health systems are also significantly more likely to provide higher quality performance to the communities served than secular not-for-profit systems," it added. "Investor-owned systems have significantly lower performance than all other groups." Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity who is president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, said that in Catholic hospitals, "quality is a primary commitment flowing from mission. Everyone from the sponsors, boards, clinicians and support staff takes it very seriously," she said. "We are pleased to see this independent confirmation of the success of our efforts.”

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV has appointed the French archbishop of Chambéry, Thibault Verny, as the new president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He succeeds Cardinal Seán O’Malley, 81, the emeritus archbishop of Boston.
Gerard O’ConnellJuly 05, 2025
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with other members of the House July 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington after final passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”
Kevin ClarkeJuly 03, 2025
It was one of the first times Leo has spoken unscripted at length in public, responding to questions posed to him by the children.
The Vatican has named the judges that will preside over the trial of disgraced Father Marko Rupnik.