SEATTLE – An innovative partnership that aims to transform the way Catholic organizations respond to the needs of the poor was announced May 11 by the Archdiocese of Seattle.  

The Catholic Healthcare Collaboration partners include the archdiocese, Catholic Community Services/Catholic Housing Services of Western Washington and regional Catholic health care organizations including PeaceHealth, Providence and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health.  

“We are the living Body of Christ, and together we will go out to live the Gospel by serving as Christ to those most in need,” Archbishop Paul D. Etienne said in a news release. 

Each partner in the collaboration has signed a five-year memorandum of understanding that begins with a $5 million total commitment. The collaboration’s first planned projects will assist homeless people discharged from hospitals, community members who have difficulty accessing health care, and asylum seekers. The projects, in the early planning phases, are expected to roll out over the next year. 

Archbishop Etienne expressed gratitude to all the partners, as well as the founding religious communities — the Sisters of Providence, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange and the Sisters of St. Francis, “who have been lovingly providing health care to everyone in our communities since the 1800s.” 

“Today, the urgent need for outreach and care in our communities is so clear,” the archbishop said. “It’s an all-hands-on-deck moment for the common good of society, and this is just the beginning.” 

The first of its kind in Western Washington, the collaboration aims to provide more comprehensive solutions for members of the community with the greatest need, the archdiocese said in a news release. 

Michael Reichert, president of CCS/CHS, said his organization is eager to work with the partners on this vision “because it greatly benefits the communities we serve and demonstrates how the Catholic Church is taking action to reach out to those on the margins.” 

He is grateful to Archbishop Etienne for bringing the partners together, “and we’re grateful to everyone who is diligently working to elevate the dignity of all people regardless of who they are or where they came from,” Reichert said.  

A look at the first projects 

Each partner in the collaboration has senior leadership represented in the Executive Sponsorship Group, which is developing a five-year strategy for the initiative. A leadership council will oversee and implement the collaboration’s projects around the archdiocese. 

The first three projects approved by the executive group are: 

Medical respite and recuperative care 
Many Catholic hospitals face challenges when discharging homeless people who don’t have a safe environment to call home. Hospitals often keep homeless patients much longer than necessary because there is no other place for them to recover. Patients experiencing homelessness often are caught in a cycle, going from the street to the emergency department, to an acute care bed and then back on the street, explained Timothy A. Zaricznyj, executive director of Providence Supportive Housing. 

This project aims to develop a place-based medical respite and recuperative care strategy to assist homeless patients who need to recover outside a hospital setting. 

“We believe we will achieve a model of housing and health care that is adaptable and scalable beyond Western Washington,” Zaricznyj said.  

Although it won’t fix homelessness or even the length-of-stay challenges at hospitals, he said, it will address the housing and health care needs of “people who have languished without appropriate housing and health care resources for too long.”  

Expanding community health workers  
The community health worker model is a proven and effective way to help marginalized people access health care. This project will increase the number of community health workers in underserved local communities, with potential sites chosen based on community input combined with advanced data mapping to determine the areas of greatest need, based on a unique social vulnerability index score.  

“We are thrilled to be part of this initiative to help increase the number of community health workers in our region and improve access to physical and behavioral health care for those in need,” said Rose Shandrow, senior vice president and chief mission officer at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health.  

Asylum seeker assistance 
The U.S. government welcomes asylum seekers — people who leave their countries because of persecution and serious human rights violations and are seeking protection in another country — but has a specific legal process for them to obtain asylum. This project aims to connect the most vulnerable asylum seekers in the legal process with trained health care professionals who can complete recommended psychosocial evaluations and find appropriate support for asylum seekers affected by trauma. 

The collaboration’s leadership council will meet regularly to ensure progress in the inaugural projects, while other projects are developed over the next five years. 

“My greatest hope,” Archbishop Etienne said, “is that those we serve experience the presence of Christ through our concrete actions.” 

Learn more about the Catholic Healthcare Collaboration. 

Read the news release:  English   Spanish