
Dignity Health (formerly Catholic Healthcare West) was a
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
-based
not-for-profit
A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives.
While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...
public-benefit corporation that operated hospitals and ancillary care facilities in three states. Dignity Health was the fifth-largest hospital system in the nation and the largest not-for-profit hospital provider in California.
Formerly a Catholic institution, the organization went independent in 2012 and adopted its new name. In February 2019, Dignity Health merged with
Catholic Health Initiatives, becoming
CommonSpirit Health.
Its headquarters are located in the
China Basin Landing building in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
.
History
Catholic Healthcare West was founded in 1986, when the
Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...
Burlingame Regional Community and the Sisters of Mercy Auburn Regional Community merged their health care ministries into one organization.
In 2010, Dignity Health,
Blue Shield of California, and Hill Physicians Medical Group formed an Accountable Care Organization that covers 41,000 individuals in the California Public Employees Retirement System (
CalPERS
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is an agency in the California executive branch that "manages pension and health benefits for more than 1.5 million California public employees, retirees, and their families".CalPERSFa ...
).
From the time of its founding until 2012, the company was an official ministry of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.
In 2012, the company's corporate governance structure changed, moving it out of the Catholic Church's purview and resulting in a name change to Dignity Health.
Adeptus Health partnered with Dignity Health to establish the Dignity Health Arizona General Hospital in
Laveen, Arizona.
[Dignity Health, Adeptus Health announce joint venture](_blank)
Shannon Barnet. October 23, 2014. Becker's. December 8, 2015.
In 2018, Dignity Health and
Catholic Health Initiatives received approval from the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
to merge. The merger was completed, on February 1, 2019, under a new name,
CommonSpirit Health, forming the second-largest nonprofit hospital chain in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Dignity Health was the official health care provider of the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
.
Governance
The Board of Directors was responsible for approving major decisions affecting Dignity Health’s health care business, such as long-range strategic plans, the allocation of capital, joint ventures, and major acquisitions and sales. Dignity Health's Board of Directors are:
*Dr.
Andrew C. Agwunobi ,
Berkeley Research Group, LLC
*Judy Carle, RSM (''vice chairperson'') ,
Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...
of the Americas West Midwest Community
*Caretha Coleman (''chairperson'') , Principal, Coleman Consulting
*Lloyd H. Dean , President & CEO, Dignity Health
*Mark DeMichele , Urban Realty Partners
*Tessie Guillermo (''secretary'') , President & CEO, Zero Divide
*Peter Hanelt , Business Consultant
*Dr. Rodney F. Hochman , Group President,
Providence Health & Services
Providence Health & Services is a not-for-profit Catholic Church, Catholic healthcare system headquartered in Renton, Washington.
The health system includes 51 hospitals, more than 800 non-acute facilities, and numerous assisted living faciliti ...
*Julie Hyer, OP ,
Adrian Dominican Sisters
Sponsorship council
Although Dignity Health is not a Catholic institution, the organization owned and operated 24 Catholic hospitals. While overall fiscal responsibility for these hospitals rests with the Board of Directors, certain reserve rights are still held by the religious orders that founded them. The Sponsorship Council comprised sisters from each of the six Catholic religious communities that first opened each of the Catholic hospitals owned by Dignity Health. Each community selected one woman to act as one of the six members of the Sponsorship Council. The six Catholic religious communities were represented by:
*Sheila Browne, RSM,
Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...
of the Americas, West Midwest Community, Burbank, CA
*Lillian Anne Healy, CCVI,
Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Houston, TX
*Maureen McInerney, OP, Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, CA
*Patricia Rayburn, OSF,
Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, Redwood City, CA
*Corinne Sanders, OP,
Adrian Dominican Sisters, Adrian, MI
*Susan Snyder, OP,
Congregation of Sisters of St. Dominic of St. Catherine of Siena, Taos, NM
Controversies
On December 21, 2010, Bishop
Thomas Olmsted of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix declared that a Catholic Healthcare West hospital,
St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, could no longer call itself a Catholic institution after a procedure was performed in 2009 to end a pregnancy to save a woman’s life. In a public statement, Bishop Olmsted said the procedure was in contrast to a
direct abortion, which is in direct violation of The
Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.
In a statement, St. Joseph’s President Linda Hunt said the hospital would comply with Olmsted’s decision, but she defended the actions of the hospital staff, stating, "If we are presented with a situation in which a pregnancy threatens a woman’s life, our first priority is to save both patients. If that is not possible, we will always save the life we can save, and that is what we did in this case. Morally, ethically, and legally, we simply cannot stand by and let someone die whose life we might be able to save." The story made national headlines.
Sister
Carol Keehan, president of the
Catholic Health Association of the United States, defended St. Joseph’s decision to terminate the pregnancy. "They had been confronted with a heartbreaking situation," she said in a formal statement. "They carefully evaluated the patient’s situation and correctly applied the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services to it, saving the only life that was possible to save."
In 2012, trustees of
Ashland Community Hospital in Ashland, Oregon, invited Dignity Health to acquire it for debt. Community members raised concerns about the possible takeover, pointing to restrictions in Dignity's Statement of Common Values that might mean that the hospital would no longer offer abortion services, or
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
services under Oregon's 1997 Death With Dignity
Act.
Asked by Ashland mayor John Stromberg if the Statement of Common Values could be modified, Dignity Vice-President for Ethics and Justice Education Carol Bayley told community members, "As far as loosening it, don't hold out hope. We have our feet in Catholic mud, there is no denying it."
Facing increasing community opposition, Dignity Health ceased negotiations without explanation on October 30, 2012.
Dignity Health was included by
California Attorney General
The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). The ...
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...
on the
antitrust
Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
investigation, launched in September 2012, into whether growing consolidation in the state's hospitals and physician groups was driving up the health care costs.
As of summer 2018, Dignity Health did not provide many services considered routine by non-religious providers, including some emergency procedures. Dignity Health has cited the "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services" as its guideline in approving or refusing medical procedures. That document is prepared by the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic C ...
, which is not a medical organization. A particular controversy results from Dignity Health's non-Catholic marketing style, and unclear representations of which facilities are and are not considered Catholic.
In August 2024, Dignity Health and
Mercy San Juan Medical Center were sued for "malicious and outrageous" conduct by the family of Jessie Peterson. They had been told in April 2023 that Peterson had checked out of the hospital, when in fact she had died in the care of Mercy San Juan. The hospital had then shipped Peterson's body to a storage facility, and did not inform her family. The family did not learn of Peterson's death until April 2024. When Peterson's body was recovered, it was too decayed to determine if her death was the result of medical malpractice.
Hospitals
Dignity Health operates 40 hospitals—24 Catholic and 15 non-Catholic:
References
External links
*
*
Catholic Healthcare West official website*
Consolidated Financial Statements: 2011 and 2010*
Dignity Health's Statement of Common Values
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dignity Health
1986 establishments in California
Catholic health care
Christian organizations based in the United States
Companies based in San Francisco
Hospitals established in 1986
Healthcare in California
Healthcare in Arizona
Healthcare in Nevada
Privately held companies based in California
Health care companies based in California
Health care companies established in 1986
Catholic hospital networks in the United States