I just saw a news story about Steward Hospital Corporation, a for profit corporation, which is declaring bankruptcy in conjunction with some scandals associated with their practices.
One hospital in Massachusetts is named Saint Elizabeth’s. It also has a St. Margaret clinic.
I presume this hospital was once a Catholic hospital, but the name was maintained when it was sold to a for-profit corporation.
The same thing happened in Augusta, Georgia. Saint Joseph Hospital once owned and run by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Corondelet was sold to a for profit corporation. There was much controversy when the Sisters asked that the name of the hospital be changed with the sale.
An unusual arrangement was worked out where the hospital would be called Trinity Hospital but that the Catholic Church would maintain the chapel and some aspects of chaplaincy in the hospital. All the religious symbols in the hospital, such as statues and crucifixes remained in this hospital.
That corporation has since sold Trinity hospital to another corporation and is renamed Piedmont. I think all the religious symbols are gone as is the Catholic chapel.
It is sad that the post-Vatican II Church can’t maintain its pre-Vatican II institutions as there are no Sisters or Brothers to do so.
But yes, change the name, as painful as that is, when it is no longer a Catholic hospital.
2 comments:
In my area we have a hospital system named for a saint, there are crucifixes in every room, a chapel, a chaplaincy done by local priests, rather generic prayers are read over PA system near vespers time, it is called a Catholic hospital but not in formal name....but, it has no association whatsoever with the archdiocese or any religious order whatsoever, and was started as a lay private concern.
As for "for profit" vs "non-profit", that has been a vacuous difference for a very long time, ever since the nurses and doctors became irreligious "professional/for-profit" rather than priests/religious/volunteers. Costs are enormous at either modern variety, and has been ever since the "health care professionals" got into it for very good/high incomes, rather than doing it for love of God and their fellow Man, and satisfied with only room/board/service. And so went true compassion as well. Kinda like how Bishops became bishops.
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