Seminarians to shadow chaplains 2 Food initiative’s goal is ‘systems change’ 3 Executive changes 7 PERIODICAL RATE PUBLICATION
JUNE 1, 2023 VOLUME 39, NUMBER 9
Mercy Housing head SSM executive urges ministry providers looks to expand to ensure they’re using data ethically partnerships between TRANSPARENCY DATA ETHICS AND CATHOLIC HEALTH CARE church’s health and Six principles identified by the Vatican as inherent to the ethical use of artificial intelligence: INCLUSION housing ministries Systems must be explainable.
The needs of all human beings must be taken into consideration.
By JULIE MINDA
Since the Sisters of Mercy founded Mercy Housing in 1981, the nonprofit, affordable housing ministry has partnered with Catholic health systems and facilities. Given that the housing and health care organizations commonly share sponsorship, leadership, purpose, vision and values, alignment has come naturally. As the nation’s largest affordable housing provider with nearly $4.9 billion invested in affordable real estate development, Mercy Housing is expanding its strategies to achieve greater impact in improving people’s lives. Both through direct real estate development and investments through Mercy Community Capital, its affiliated community development financial institution, Mercy Housing is improving affordable housing in 41 states. For the past four decades, Mercy Housing has been balancing growth with service delivery, allowing people to live in safe homes with dignity. Ismael Guerrero joined Guerrero Mercy Housing in 2020 as president and chief executive. He spoke to Catholic Health World about the close alignment between the Catholic Church’s housing and health care ministries and how those ministries can and should expand their partnership. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Why are Mercy Housing and Catholic health care working together? Bringing housing and health care closer Continued on 5
RESPONSIBILITY Designers and deployers must have accountability.
IMPARTIALITY Bias should not be created or employed.
RELIABILITY
Systems must work reliably.
SECURITY AND PRIVACY Systems must be secure and users’ privacy respected. Source: Rome Call for AI Ethics, 2020
By JULIE MINDA
There is a massive amount of data that providers generate in the delivery of health care, and much of that data is highly sensitive, personal information. A lot of the data is so valuable that third-party companies are willing to pay handsomely to access it. Given these and other dynamics of the digital data environment, it is important, in the view of Michael Miller, SSM Health system vice president of mission and ethics, that all health care organiMiller zations be extremely careful about how they handle data. In a webinar titled “Data and Ethics in Health Care,” Miller said it is essential for Catholic health care organizations in particular to thoroughly vet and monitor all plans and implementations for data use from an ethical perspective. Describing the value of health care Continued on 4
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Bon Secours brings AmeriCorps into Cincinnati emergency rooms By PATRICIA CORRIGAN
Some come to talk about their addictions. Some ask for help. Some are hungry. A listening ear, a referral to a treatment center or a turkey sandwich all are available in the emergency departments of five hospitals in Cincinnati, through Mercy Serves, a program initiated six years ago by Mercy Health — Cincinnati, part of Bon Secours Mercy Health. The program is part of the health system’s response to the national opioid epidemic, which has claimed over a million lives. Each year, Mercy Serves recruits up to 10 volunteers through AmeriCorps, a
government-sponsored volunteer organization, to spend 11 months working alongside nurses, other health care providers and social workers in hospital emergency departments. The volunteers provide patient education about addiction and substance use, conduct risk screenings, identify resources for social services and follow up with patients after discharge. The goal of the program is to leverage the power of the national service movement and build the next generation of service-minded leaders while simultaneously addressing a critical community need. Continued on 7
The volunteers come from all different careers, interests and backgrounds, and they are mission-oriented. They do not have to be interested in medical careers to apply, though some are. ” — Tikierra Thompson, who manages the Mercy Serves program
Retired sisters redirect their ministry in their new Benedictine home SHAKOPEE, Minn. — Circumstances that threw a curve into plans for the opening of a new addition at Benedictine Living Community — Shakopee smoothed the way for 113 retired School Sisters of Notre Dame to move there last year. The sisters were in search of a new home after the congregation decided to sell their provincial residence, Our Lady of Good Counsel, about 60 miles away in Mankato, Minnesota. The residence was too large for a congregation that, like others across the nation, is shrinking. The residence, which dates to 1912, also was becoming too costly to maintain. Meanwhile, the opening of Benedictine Shakopee’s newly built independent and assisted living addition, known as Windermere Way, was delayed for several months to November 2020 due to a malfunctioning sprinkler system. Even with the delay, the opening came as the spread of COVID-19 and related restrictions were Continued on 6
School Sisters of Notre Dame Central Pacific Province
By LISA EISENHAUER
Srs. Rose Anthony, left, and Lavonne Krebs, right, unload belongings last fall at Windermere Way, part of Benedictine Living Community — Shakopee in Minnesota. Srs. Anthony and Krebs were among 113 retirees from the School Sisters of Notre Dame Central Pacific Province who moved to the community from Our Lady of Good Counsel in Mankato, Minnesota.