Catholic hospitals-yes or no?

jrbl77, RN · Sep 11, 2006

i have workewd in a catholic hospital my entire nsg career and i have had no problems at all. i am not catholic and religon has never been an issue.our health insurance doesn't cover sterilazation procedures or birth control and we don't do those type of procedures here.

luckylucyrn · Sep 11, 2006

I have worked in a Catholic hospital and a "Baptist" hospital, and I really can't tell the difference between them in as far as the way they are run, etc. The catholic hospital did have a daily mass and then a non-denominational service. The baptist hospital has a non-denominational service only. I have enjoyed working at both.

The one thing that was different was that our insurance at the Catholic hospital did not cover contraception or elective sterilization.

Jolie, BSN · Sep 11, 2006

Some Catholic facilities are excellent, others not so.

I worked maternity in a Catholic hospital a number of years ago when I was not practicing any religion. It was one of the finest facilities and employers I've ever known. Staff and patients were treated with the utmost respect. My lack of religion was never an issue. There were no pregnancy terminations, sterilization procedures, or distribution of contraceptives, but the patients and staff all knew that up front, so it wasn't a problem.

On the other hand, my family has had a number of interactions with a Catholic hospital system in another area of the country, all negative, ranging from degrading and disrespectful treatment, to glaring errors in care, to billing that was so inaccurate as to be possibly fraudulent.

Like any other hospital, the environment in a Catholic facility is set by the administration that runs the hospital. Some are quite good, others really bad. I don't think faith has much to do with it!

EDValerieRN, ASN, RN · Sep 11, 2006

Yeah I work at a Catholic facility, and I'm not too knowledgeable about Catholic practices. One day everyone is walking around with these black smears on their forehead, and I'm wondering if something is on fire. Turns out the priest was gettin' everyone dirty =)

I like working where I do. They do cover my BCP's, but won't cover IUD's or Norplant. I think the daily prayers are soothing, and the powers that be make sure to focus on spirituality, and not exclude those patients who are not catholic. I guess it probably varies from place to place.

nyforlove · Sep 11, 2006

I'm concerned they might not provide domestic-partner health benefits for couples (whether same-sex or opposite-sex)....I know the NYSNA (NYState Nurses Ass'n) contract provides for domestic partnersip benefits, but I wonder if St. Vincent's Hospital in the West Village of Manhattan has some religious exemption???

ICRN2008, BSN, RN · Sep 11, 2006

The Catholic hospitals in my state are not obligated to provide health insurance to domestic partners, and I think that it is the same throughout the country, including New York.

EDValerieRN, ASN, RN · Sep 11, 2006

I don't know if my facility is obligated, but they did offer benefits to a legally domiciled adult...I covered my fiance before we were married. I'm in AZ

catlady, BSN, RN · Sep 11, 2006

When I worked at a Catholic hospital, my GYN wrote a note to the insurance company that I needed my BCPs for fibroids, and they covered it.

tvccrn, ASN, RN · Sep 11, 2006

I don't think the not covering domestic partners is strictly a catholic issue. I have worked in many different facilities and none of them covered domestic partners.

tvccrn

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 11, 2006

I don't think the not covering domestic partners is strictly a catholic issue. I have worked in many different facilities and none of them covered domestic partners.
tvccrn

While I can't imagine a Catholic hospital even considering the notion of domestic partner benefits, what you say is true, it's common not to offer domestic partner benefits in quite a bit of hospitalis, Chritsian and non-Christian.

Otessa, BSN, RN · Sep 11, 2006

I work in a Catholic facility and I am not Catholic but Christian. They hold the same values that I have in treating the WHOLE person(no matter what religion or no-religion someone has)