LOS ALTOS HILLS, CA

“As we acknowledge our tenth year as a health system, we know this past decade attaches to our long and valued history spanning more than 375 years of caring for those less fortunate,” offers Robert Issai, President & CEO of Daughters of Charity Health System. “We have been blessed with a rich legacy of adapting to and fulfilling the needs of those we serve.”

St. Vincent de Paul, a country priest, and St. Louise de Marillac, a widow, formed the first Company of the Daughters of Charity in 1633 to serve the sick and poor inParis. In 1809, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton founded the American Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland. By 1823, the Sisters assumed responsibility for the Nursing Service of the Baltimore Infirmary in Maryland. Five years later, the Sisters traveled to St. Louis, Missouri, and established the first Catholic hospital in the country,originally named Sisters’ Hospital, eventually renamed Mullanphy Hospital in honor of benefactor John Mullanphy.  Today, it is known as De Paul Hospital.

Until 1995, the Daughters of Charity hospitals were part of the Daughters of Charity National Health System, which was established in 1986 in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1995, the Daughters of Charity, Province of the West, merged their six hospitals with Catholic Healthcare West (CHW). In 2001, after careful reflection, they withdrew from CHW.

On January 1, 2002, the Daughters of Charity Health System was formed. Today, more than 7500 physicians and associates work alongside Daughters of Charity, continuing a legacy of service to our California communities.

“When the Daughters of Charity first arrived inSan Francisco in 1852, they set a high standard of service to members of their communities,” says Sister Marjory Ann Baez, DC, Visitatrix, Province of the West. “Our California health care roots took hold in 1858 when we established the Los Angeles County Hospital, now St.Vincent Medical Center. Today, we continue to embrace that high standard and offer quality compassionate care to those in need and beyond.”

“Our hospital was founded as the San Jose Sanitarium and Home in 1889,” offers James F. Dover, President & CEO of O’Connor Hospital, a member hospital of DCHS. “Judge Myles O’Connor and his wife Amanda generously provided funds for a community facility” he adds. “We have been a presence in California for more than 150 years with a number of our original institutions still in existence today. Our Mission of caring for the sick and those living in poverty has sustained us throughout the years.”

Today, DCHS hospitals include Seton Medical Center, Daly City; Seton Coastside, Moss Beach; O’Connor Hospital, San Jose; Saint Louise Regional Hospital, Gilroy; St. Francis Medical Center, Lynwood; and St. Vincent Medical Center, Los Angeles.

Five experienced Los Angeles orthopaedists have come together to practice at the new hospital institute, which opened for patients on Oct. 17, in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Building, 2200 W. 3rd St., Suite 120 A. The St. Vincent Orthopaedic Institute, downstairs from the Joint Replacement Institute, occupies 4,000 square feet of new clinic space, including eight exam rooms, an imaging suite, and doctors’ offices.

The orthopaedists moved their Little Tokyo, Koreatown and Montebello practices – a total of more than 10,000 patients – to St. Vincent Orthopaedic Institute.

Bringing independent orthopaedists with solid skills and years of experience together into a hospital institute creates an atmosphere of excellence. “These orthopaedists are already part of the St. Vincent family and have helped us achieve the quality distinction as the No. 5 Best Hospital in all of Metro Los Angeles,” said President/CEO Cathy Fickes, referring to the U.S. News & World Report designation for 2011-2012.

“With this new St. Vincent Orthopaedic Institute, we are amassing tremendous talent right across the street from St. Vincent Medical Center. Together with the Joint Replacement Institute, we will be able to meet the comprehensive orthopaedic needs of adults throughout the community.”
A wide range of adult orthopaedic treatments can be performed in the institute, from casting of fractures to pain management of bone, joint and spinal problems. The latest imaging equipment and electronic medical records system have been installed in the institute. The St. Vincent Medical Center Operating Rooms are equipped for orthopaedic surgeons to perform minimally-invasive, image-guided surgical procedures.

As national partners in Equity of Care, we will collaborate on national improvement efforts to:

• Increase the collection and use of race, ethnicity and language preference data.
• Increase cultural competency training.
• Increase diversity in governance and leadership.

These groups are also providing hospitals, health systems, clinicians and staff with the tools needed to address this challenge and are committed to accelerating the acquisition and use of needed data.

We invite you to visit www.equityofcare.org to access free resources, shared best practices and information on national collaborative efforts. If you have a best practice or example to share on your efforts to improve equity of care, please contact info@equityofcare.org.

Equity of Care Videos
As part of the efforts to eliminate disparities in care, the initiative has produced a number of videos to call attention to the issue. Visit the Call to Action page on the website to view the videos, including comments from CHA members and Sr. Carol Keehan, DC.

Source: http://www.chausa.org/Pages/Our_Work/Diversity_and_Disparities/Equity_of_Care/