skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, April 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Tribal advocates keep up legal pressure for fair political maps; 12-member jury sworn in for Trump's historic criminal trial; the importance of healthcare decision planning; and a debt dilemma: poll shows how many people wrestle with college costs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Civil rights activists say a court ruling could end the right to protest in three southern states, a federal judge lets January 6th lawsuits proceed against former President Trump, and police arrest dozens at a Columbia University Gaza protest.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural Wyoming needs more vocational teachers to sustain its workforce pipeline, Ohio environmental advocates fear harm from a proposal to open 40-thousand forest acres to fracking and rural communities build bike trail systems to promote nature, boost the economy.

Health Care Could Be Threatened by Hospital Merger

play audio
Play

Tuesday, May 30, 2017   

GARY, Ind. — A proposed takeover of Gary, Indiana's only hospital by a Catholic organization is raising some eyebrows.

A merger would mean Gary's Methodist Hospital would be managed by Franciscan Health, which is run by the Roman Catholic Church. Hospital management have said they will follow directives from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Amy Littlefield is an investigative reporter for Rewire. She said the takeover could mean the denial of care for some residents because the church forbids most forms of contraceptives, sterilization, abortion and some fertility treatments, and restricts end-of-life care.

“Health care providers in cases that we've seen across the country have used these directives to deny care to transgender patients who are seeking surgery, to patients who are in the process of miscarrying who need urgent care,” Littlefield said.

She cited the case of an Illinois woman who was denied treatment after an IUD became dislodged and she was in pain. The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Catholic hospitals repeatedly for denying care for miscarriages and gender-affirming surgery.

A town hall meeting on the hospital merger will be held in Gary on Wednesday, May 31.

Littlefield said traveling to another hospital outside city limits isn't always an option for Gary residents. Nearly 40 percent of the city's residents live in poverty and rely on public transportation.

"So if the only hospital were to come under these religious restrictions on a whole range of basic health care, the people would potentially need to be traveling outside the city to other cities on buses in order to be able get that care,” Littlefield said.

Nationwide, 1-in-6 acute-care hospital beds are run by the Catholic Church; in Indiana, it’s about 1-in-4. Across the country, there are around 50 Catholic-run Hospitals that are the only hospital in the region.

More information is available here.

This story was produced in partnership with Rewire.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Bureau of Land Management's newly issued Public Lands Rule is designed to safeguard cultural resources such as New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Park. (Photo courtesy SallyPaez)

Environment

play sound

Balancing the needs of the many with those who have traditionally reaped benefits from public lands is behind a new rule issued Thursday by the Bureau…


Health and Wellness

play sound

Alzheimer's disease is the eighth-leading cause of death in Pennsylvania. A documentary on the topic debuts Saturday in Pittsburgh. "Remember Me: …

Social Issues

play sound

April is Financial Literacy Month, when the focus is on learning smart money habits but also how to protect yourself from fraud. One problem on the …


Outdoor recreation added $11.7 million to the Arizona economy in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Arizona conservation groups and sportsmen alike say they're pleased the Bureau of Land Management will now recognize conservation as an integral part …

play sound

Across the U.S., most political boundaries tied to the 2020 Census have been in place for a while, but a national project on map fairness for …

The 2023 Annie E. Casey Foundation Data Book ranked Arkansas 37th in the nation for education, and said 56% of young children were not in preschool programs to help get them ready for school. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The need for child care and early learning is critical, especially in rural Arkansas. One nonprofit is working to fill those gaps by giving providers …

Environment

play sound

An annual march for farmworkers' rights is being held Sunday in northwest Washington. This year, marchers are focusing on the conditions for local …

Social Issues

play sound

A new Gallup and Lumina Foundation poll unveils a concerning reality: Hoosiers may lack clarity about the true cost of higher education. The survey …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021