continue at Father ZI have an ACTION ITEM for you good readers. You have been generous to causes I have mentioned in the past. Sometimes people have a hard time finding causes to support. This is one of them that I admire.
I have written about Our Lady of Hope Clinic before. This is one of the worthiest causes I have seen for a while and it could use your help, wherever you are.
Read more HERE and HERE
This could be a new model for health care in a rapidly changing – disintegrating – time. The “Affordable” Care Act really isn’t. It is going to be harder in the future for people to get health care, not easier. And for those without much bucks?
Here is the pitch.
If you are near Madison, go to a benefit dinner. If you are not near Madison, send them money anyway. They have a DONATION page.
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| Franciscan Skemp |
Mayo Clinic Health System will reopen an Onalaska clinic on Friday as a “special procedures” facility to offer sterilizations.continue at LAXTrib
The vasectomies for men and Essure contraceptive implants for women “will be under the umbrella of the Mayo Clinic Health System rather than Franciscan Healthcare,” said Rick Thiesse, spokesman for La Crosse-based Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare.
The arrangement is intended to allow Mayo-Franciscan, which Mayo and Franciscan Healthcare co-sponsor, to retain its Catholic identity, Thiesse said.
He noted the “sensitive matter of these special outpatient-based sterilization procedures.”
Catholic hospitals are required to follow the U.S. bishops’ Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare Services, a 43-page document that sets care guidelines but bans abortion and sterilization.
Two sisters from Mount Horeb say a cervical cancer vaccine shut down their ovaries and almost certainly left them unable to get pregnant, a claim scheduled for a hearing Thursday and Friday in federal court in Washington, D.C.Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/health_med_fit/sisters-hpv-vaccine-injury-claim-heads-to-federal-court/article_53ce9006-cc4b-5547-b1d2-6beb49417a02.html#ixzz2jyxiLvtQ
Madelyne Meylor, 20, and Olivia Meylor, 19, say their premature ovarian failure came from the vaccine against human papillomavirus, or HPV.
It’s the first allegation that the vaccine caused the condition to reach a hearing through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, said their attorney, Mark Krueger, of Baraboo.
Health officials recommend three doses of the vaccine against HPV, a sexually transmitted virus, for girls and boys ages 11 and 12 to protect against cervical cancer, throat cancer, genital warts and other conditions. Two brands are available: Gardasil, approved in 2006, and Cervarix, approved in 2009.
The vaccine injury program has awarded payments for HPV vaccine injuries in 68 cases for a total of at least $5.9 million, according to the federal government and Judicial Watch, a nonpartisan foundation. The program has dismissed 63 claims and 81 claims are pending.
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| Photo from OurLadyofHopeClinic.org |
Earlier this year, Rod Keller needed about $600 for lab work to get his annual prescription for diabetes medication. For a part-time, property maintenance worker, that's a lot of money."Dr. Michael Kloess and Our Lady of Hope Clinic's volunteer staff are doing an incredible job, but the Capital Times is an incredibly liberal publication with readers who follow suit. Do the clinic a favor and leave a favorable comment on this article.
I really couldn't afford to do it," says Keller.
Concerned about Keller's health, his employer told him about a free medical clininc [sic] on Madison's west side.
"They got my blood work and got it done for free," Keller says. "And they prescribed some medication for me that's been helping my diabetes tremendiously [sic] -- saved me a ton of money that I didn't have."
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| Dr. Michael Kloess and a visitor to Our Lady of Hope Clinic |
Uninsured residents who have slipped through the cracks often end up in the emergency room for routine ailments like ear infections. And without access to basic health care, manageable conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol often go untreated until they turn into serious problems that result in preventable emergency room visits or hospital stays. Already struggling families end up facing mountains of debt that could be avoided.
•Direct access to a personal primary care doctor, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week
•Extended appointment times of at least 30 minutes, every time
•Same-day or next day scheduling
•Unlimited care - Benefactors may see their physician as often as necessary without incurring additional charges
Religious leaders in many states have urged their state governments to accept federal funding for Medicaid expansion to ensure that the most vulnerable individuals receive access to quality health care. Today, we add our voices to theirs in suggesting that Wisconsin do so as well.
In our respective faith traditions, a right is defined as a moral claim on the community to a good essential for human dignity. Access to affordable health care is such a right, and ensuring access is a common policy goal of long standing for religious communities.
God calls on us to care for our neighbors and to protect the most vulnerable members of our society. "For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land' " (Deuteronomy 15:11).
The Medicaid program is an important means to this end. For nearly five decades, this program has provided vital access to the most vulnerable members of our society. One of the most appealing and socially just aspects of the Affordable Care Act is its offer to provide financial help to states to expand their Medicaid programs. This offer of coverage extends the benefits of health insurance to those in our midst who have thus far been left outside society's "circle of protection" afforded by our health care safety net.
continue at Des Moines RegisterBy
Most Rev. Jerome Hanus,
Most Rev. R. Walker Nickless,
Most Rev. Martin Amos, and
Most Rev. Richard Pates
We, the Catholic bishops of Iowa, are grateful that the governor and the Iowa Legislature are debating how to make health care coverage more readily available to low-income Iowans.
The Catholic Church has millennia of experience as providers of health care for all, especially the poor. Among the causes that contribute to poverty are “inadequate measures for guaranteeing basic health care” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 447). It is in this spirit that we reiterate our Catholic tradition that teaches that health care is a natural human right, essential to protecting human life and dignity.
We believe there are several criteria that should be considered when evaluating a health care proposal. It should 1) ensure access to quality, readily accessible, affordable, life-giving health care for all; 2) retain long-standing requirements that federal funds not be used for elective abortions or plans that include them, and effectively protect conscience rights; and 3) protect the access to health care that immigrants currently have and remove current barriers to access.
Ultimately it is the role of our civil leaders to decide what is most practical in achieving the common good. Currently, the Medicaid public health insurance program is limited to very low-income adults who have dependents or a disability. One of the decisions facing the Legislature is whether to extend Medicaid with the assistance of additional federal dollars.
The proposed “Medicaid expansion” passed by the Iowa Senate would:
• Extend coverage to almost all people who earn less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level — projected to include 150,000 persons in Iowa.
• Allow persons whose income is from 138 percent to 400 percent of the federal poverty level to purchase private plans with the assistance of tax credits through a “health insurance exchange.”
• Declare that a person who qualifies for the program by reason of income is entitled to care.
• Declare there are no monthly premiums.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal’s Paul Gigot on Fox News on Sunday. In the interview, Walker explained his decision not to set up a health care exchange for Wisconsin, leaving it to the federal government. Walker said the end result would be the same, an exchange run by the directives of the federal government.
MADISON (WKOW) -- A local clinic is offering free care for those without insurance.WKOW 27
Our Lady of Hope clinic holds walk-in hours for uninsured patients at least twice a week.
It's a unique approach called concierge medicine. Benefactors pay a set amount for healthcare year-round, which in turn, pays for the uninsured.
Doctors say they saw a need in the Madison-area. According to the latest statistics from the 2009 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, 9.4% of people in Wisconsin are uninsured.
In Dane County, the number is 6.8%. In Rock County, it's 9.8%. In Milwaukee, it's 12.9%.
Dr. Michael Kloess, who established the clinic along with Dr. Anne Volk Johnson, said, "The problem you run into, is they don't receive primary care. Then they end up in the ER, with a stroke, or a heart attack, which could have been easily prevented."
Kenneth Waites heads to Our Lady of Hope Clinic while he looks for a job. He said he lost his job last October, and along with that, his family's health insurance.
Waites said, "Without this place.. I don't know what I would have done. It's a god-send."
Bobby Peterson works for ABC for Health Inc, in Madison, a non profit public interest law firm that guides people through the healthcare system.
He says he's also seen the impact being uninsured can have on people.
Peterson said, "You delay going to see the doctor, and that leads to expensive care... We're still feeling the effects of the great recession.... so its tough out there."
Our Lady of Hope Clinic holds walk-in hours every Monday, Tuesday, every Thursday afternoon, and every other Friday morning.
Costs vary to be a benefactor, but it costs the average person about $1200 dollars. Costs are different for families and also depend on age.
There are other clinics in the Madison area that provide this care, and hospitals have programs for those who need help as well.
details at Creative Minority ReportIt seems the decision is left to Kathleen Sebelius and Congress doesn't get a say which pretty much means everyone's getting contraception coverage.
The report raises the canard that an increase in contraception would lead to a decline in the number of abortions. And, of course, the Times passes this on uncritically as if this were indisputable despite every indication that the truth is the exact opposite.
In fact, this recommendation would require coverage of emergency contraceptives including pills like ella and Plan B which are abortifacients themselves. And there is no out clause for this requirement so it appears to me that Catholic and Christian institutions will be forced to cover contraceptive abortifacients and sterilization procedures.
The bill begins with an enormous number of definitions, most of which simply pass the buck to other federal statutes for their content. One of those defined in the section, however, is that of "family," and the definition as given should give distributists serious concern. "The term 'family,'" the bill tells us, "means an individual and includes the individual’s dependents."more at The Distributist Review
Surely, this is a curious definition; a family normally involves, at the very least, more than one person. A quick search of a dictionary reveals a number of definitions, all of which involve a group of people of some kind. This one, however, states that a family is "an individual." Certainly, it also includes his "dependents," but doesn't have to. What does this mean for distributists?
First, this definition is perfectly open to, and is conducive of, definitions of the family that distributists should adamantly oppose. By refusing to cite to a married couple, man and woman, it opens the door for literally any type of "family" that our increasingly degenerate society decides to recognize. Cohabiting couples; homosexual couples, whether "married" or not; all of these easily fit into the definition of family as described here, provided that one of them is a "dependent." The definition of "dependent" doesn't help any, either; it is left entirely up to "the Commissioner," the only proviso being that it "includes a spouse." Note that here, too, there is no mention of a spouse of the opposite sex, a pretty glaring omission given the enormous controversy currently ongoing about the subject.
The La Crosse Guild of the Catholic Medical Association is sponsoring a Lenten Mass, dinner, and lecture by Ben Nguyen on Tuesday evening, March 22, entitled "The Thought of Pope Benedict XVI." The event is open to all. See below for details.
Buried in the middle of the "Catholic" Healthcare West/St Joseph's Hospital of Arizona story, we find this:Dad29
The bishop, in a letter dated Nov. 22, said he disagreed with an extensive analysis by Marquette University theologian M. Therese Lysaught that argued that the intention of doctors involved in the case, and the mother, was primarily to save the mother’s life – not to end the life of the fetus.
Oh, well.
Here's the lede, in case you haven't yet heard:
The Catholic Diocese of Phoenix has removed St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center’s status as a Catholic hospital for failing to strictly adhere to Bishop Thomas Olmsted’s demands that the hospital comply with church moral teaching.
Can't be 'Catholic' and perform abortions the way St Joe's did.
Here's the statement from the Diocese.
HT: Fr. Z
We live in an age where we must articulate our Catholic identity. What is it that makes us Catholic? This question must be answered for Catholic schools, Catholic organizations and even the individual Catholic.MilCH: Catholic health care should reflect Catholic identity
Marshfield Clinic Cancer Care is proud to offer Yoga Classes! A Level 1 Certified Yoga Fit Instructor, who is also an Oncology Certified Nurse will be leading this class.Sacred Heart Eau Claire
The class will be concentrating on the Hatha Yoga. This type of Yoga focuses on postures, breathing techniques, and meditation. The first class will start July 7th and go to August 11th.
The Center for Healthy Living’s MBSR course is based on the Stress Reduction Program founded in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The course includes elements of mindfulness meditation and yoga, mixed with group discussions and weekly assignments, to help you learn to see more clearly and relate more directly to the challenges in your life.
Yoga, a series of postures and controlled breathing exercises, is a popular means of stress reduction. The goal of yoga is to reach complete peacefulness in your body and mind.
The quiet, precise movements focus your mind less on your busy day and more on the moment as you move your body through poses that require balance and concentration. Yoga is a good means for stress reduction and relaxation.
Since Reiki therapy is not compatible with either Christian teaching or scientific evidence, it would be inappropriate for Catholic institutions, such as Catholic health care facilities and retreat centers, or persons representing the Church, such as Catholic chaplains, to promote or to provide support for Reiki therapy.-USCCB Guidelines on Reiki (pdf)
