HEALTH CARE CHOICES

A Values-Based Vision Of Health Care Reform

(NAPSM)-Values, some be-lieve, should be at the center of the current debate over health care reform. For example, that's the opinion of the Catholic Health Association (CHA). The Association contends that more should be done to bring health care to the 47 million people in this country who do not have access to health care.

The association has developed a "Vision For U.S. Health Care" based on the premise that health care is a matter of human dignity and the system must serve everyone. CHA's ministry of 630 hospitals and more than 1,200 nursing homes worked together to develop the Vision, which outlines criteria that should be met by efforts to improve and reform the system.

"The health of our communities and our nation depends on the health of every individual and family," says Sister Carol Keehan, president of CHA. "Our Vision describes what health care can and should be in this great country-first and foremost, that it leaves no one out."

Each of us has a role to play in creating the health care system we deserve, Sister Carol says.

She offers the following tips on how to play a role in the conversation:

• Discuss health care with your friends and colleagues; join community meetings on the subject and make your opinion heard.

• Meet with community and state leaders and share with them your hopes and expectations of health care locally and nationally.

• Use the CHA Vision to evaluate health reform proposals.

• Engage your religious community in the cause of reform; make it a topic of conversation where you worship.

• Write letters to the editor and help spread the word that health care reform is both possible and important.

Learn More

For a free brochure and more information, visit CHA's Web site at www.chausa.org or call (314) 253-3484.

Health care should be available to everyone, according to the Catholic Health Association.