What happened to church sponsored charity hospitals?
Submitted by want_my_country_back on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 10:03
The whole health care debate was started because we wanted to help the poor right? Didn't we use to have a system in place before Nixon and the HMO debacle? I don't know the history of this, but I remember talking to my Dad and grandmother and them mentioning how there use to be many catholic or church sponsored charity hospitals that treated the poor. What happened to them? Are they still around? If they have shrunk in numbers, which I assume they have, is because of some government regulations or because people quit donating? Thanks for any help you can offer.
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My opinion is :
Most new American doctors and medical professionals enter the work force owing thousands and thousands of dollars due to loans received for their expensive educations.
Therefore to pay back these loans and bills { credit cards } they seek out the best paying jobs, which are not the charity's or free clinics.
Again we can blame the Fed for causing the dollar to lose so much value over the years that the struggle for money outweighs compassion for our fellow men/woman.
beesting
Church-sponsored hospitals
would take paying cases to help make ends meet. Then, they had to take federal money, too. Then, they had to do things churches couldn't fund as to not be discriminatory. Now, they're all gov't hospitals.
Defend Liberty!
Historically, most hospitals were privately endowed
They were established by private persons as acts of charity, gratitude, etc. The religious hospitals we think of date back at least to the Middle Ages when monasteries treated their own and those in their neighbourhoods.
Many hospitals and medical facilities around the world have their roots in medical missionaries, both Catholic and Protestant.
The uniqueness of the religious charity hospitals to which you refer, I think, is due to the medical orders of the church, such as the Sisters of Charity, who still operate hospitals in Canada and the US, and the Sisters of Providence. A number of my father's cousins were in those orders and the teaching orders; they were some of my favourite relatives.
But the comments below are correct, they opted in to the corporatism of the government system for survival. Still, there is a different atmosphere in many of these hospitals and they are definitely some of the premier hospitals on the continent. I suppose it is possible to sever the relationship with government, but it will take a lot more vocations (which are on the rise in the conservative orders) and it might not be easy to throw off the beast of Medicare.
This is a lengthy encyclopedia article about the history of hospitals and the church:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07480a.htm
thanks for the article, I have an aquantince spouting off about
how evil Christians are because they don't support Obama's health care and the first thing I thought of was these hospitals.
"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money."
-Alexis de Tocqueville
"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money."
-Alexis de Tocqueville
Shriners Hospitals for Children
Every year, the Shriners Hospitals for Children provides care for thousands of kids with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate, in a family-centered environment at no charge since 1922.
Children up to age 18 are eligible for care at Shriners Hospitals for Children, if, in the opinion of the physicians, there is a reasonable possibility they can benefit from the specialized services available.
Admission is based solely on a child's medical needs. A family's income or insurance status are not criteria for a child's acceptance as a patient.
There is no charge for services provided within Shriners Hospitals for Children facilities.
Shriners Hospitals for Children is a health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research and outstanding teaching programs:
Nineteen Shriners Hospitals provide care for congenital and acquired orthopaedic conditions, four hospitals provide acute and rehabilitative care for burn injuries, three hospitals provide rehabilitative care for children with spinal cord injuries, and the cleft lip and palate program is expanding to multiple Shriners Hospitals for Children.
I am a Shriner and one of the things I do is transport children and their families to and from the airport and our St. Louis hospital, or to and from their homes if they live in the area.
I know first hand the quality of care these families receive and am so glad we can provide this care for free. The doctors are absolutely the very best in their fields.
So, yes, there are still hospitals that provide free care.
http://www.shrinershq.org/Hospitals/Main/
One word..
"government" happened to them.
Assert Your Authority
Assert Your Authority
Most took the Federal money bait and got taken over by
corporations. Simple.
But guess what. It was done before and can be done again if enough Americanos figure out how to amass wealth, band together and do it again.
The Last Hope Trader
Forensic Trading For Times Of High Crimes
"GINO" = Government In Name Only
When, approximately?
So at what point did they begin receiving taxpayer money? What trade offs did they make in order to receive it? How was their their structure changed? (I'm assuming that prior to this event, charity hospitals were financed entirely through donations, including church collections - and that patients payed something if they could - Is that about the way it worked?)
NJ
"out of business"
During a recent interview, I heard Dr Paul say that the government has put charity hospitals "out of business". I think he was referring to the affects of medicare - Maybe someone more knowledgeable than I can explain the details? Or maybe you can send an email directly to Ron Paul, as lately (at least a few times), he's been posting brief videos answering email questions he receives about current issues. I've wondered about this also.
NJ
there are still catholic and
there are still catholic and other church sponsors hospitals. They are simply now run as gigantic corporations. They tote a "not-for-profit" label, but they are all about the money. I work in health care. At my last 2 jobs they have asked me to write down all the community service I personally do (while off the clock such as teaching Sunday school, being in the Lions Club, going on mission trips, and being involved in other community or charity functions), they want this information so that they can claim it to justify their not for profit status. I told them if they want credit for my off work activities then they can pay me while I'm doing them. I spend 6 weeks in Africa last year unpaid. My job (who didn't pay me to go) actually wanted me to write that time down so they could take credit for it. I told them my hourly rate for that type of thing.
Now if a church would get some docs together and really start taking care of people (i heard of a guy who does some mobile clinics, but I forgot his name), I think that would be great. Healthcare should be a mission of the church.
my experience at one of these
You sound like a caring, hard working soul! I visited someone in a catholic hospital not too long ago. It seemed like the kind of place where a few people worked very hard, and a lot of people wanted to avoid as much work as they could possibly get away with! The nurses were listening to music and involved in conversations. It was hard to get their attention or assistance. I saw one guy hiding out in a tiny utility room at the end of the hall, just so he wouldn't have to do anything. This was in a critical care area! I think the "charity" consisted of providing jobs to incompetent people!
NJ
The love of money
and the loss of Charity(in Greek, Charity means love).