American Catholic Hospitals: A Century of Changing Markets and Missions (Critical Issues in Health and Medicine)

Chronicles changes in Catholic hospitals during the twentieth century, many of which are emblematic of trends in the US healthcare system. It explores the Church's struggle to safeguard its religious values, examines the power of women, and the gender disparity in these institutions. These critical transformations are situated within the context of changing Church policy during the 1960s. In American Catholic Hospitals , Barbra Mann Wall chronicles changes in Catholic hospitals during the twentieth century, many of which are emblematic of trends in the American healthcare system. Wall explores the Church's struggle to safeguard its religious values. As hospital leaders reacted to increased political, economic, and societal secularization, they extended their religious principles in the areas of universal health care and adherence to the Ethical and Religious Values in Catholic Hospitals, leading to tensions between the Church, government, and society. The book also examines the power of women--as administrators, Catholic sisters wielded significant authority--as well as the gender disparity in these institutions which came to be run, for the most part, by men. Wall also situates these critical transformations within the context of the changing Church policy during the 1960s. She undertakes unprecedented analyses of the gendered politics of post-Second Vatican Council Catholic hospitals, as well as the effect of social movements on the practice of medicine. From sisters in habits to men in suits A "precarious" economic scene Religion, gender, and the public representation of Catholic hospitals Regardless of color, race, creed, or financial status Catholic hospitals and the federal government Harassed by strikes or threats of strikes Practical solutions to complicated problems "S" stands for "Sister," not "stupid." Presents a narrative of the history and transformation of Catholic hospitals in twentieth-century America. -- Back cover