Work

Conflict and Compromise: Catholic and Public Hospital Partnerships

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: This article analyzes the tensions and uneasy negotiations, based on a case study, that occurred among Catholic sisters, administrators, bishops, physicians, and the Vatican for more than seven years at a hospital in Austin, Texas. Here, the largest health care system in the city, which was Catholic, joined with the local public, tax-supported hospital that provided the majority of reproductive health care services in the region. A clash resulted over whether the hospital could continue providing sterilization and contraceptive services to its primarily poor patients. This article examines the fierce debates that occurred, especially over emergency contraception and attempts to develop creative solutions after a hierarchical crackdown from the Vatican. The end result was a compromise that included the creation of a "hospital within a hospital."

Source: Nursing History Review

DOI: 10.1891/1062-8061.18.100

Author: Barbra Mann Wall

Institution: University of Pennsylvania

Language: English

Topic: Catholicism and Religious Studies

Subfield: History

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

Funders: U.S. Public Health Service, U.S. National Library of Medicine