Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) is a national Catholic

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

system, with headquarters in

Englewood, Colorado The City of Englewood is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 33,659 at the 2020 United States Census. Englewood is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...

. CHI is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, faith-based health system formed, in 1996, through the consolidation of three Catholic health systems. It is one of the nation's largest healthcare systems. In February 2019, CHI merged with

Dignity Health Dignity Health (formerly Catholic Healthcare West) was a California-based not-for-profit public-benefit corporation that operates hospitals and ancillary care facilities in three states. Dignity Health was the fifth-largest hospital system in th ...

, forming

CommonSpirit Health CommonSpirit Health is the largest Catholic health system, and the second-largest nonprofit hospital chain, in the United States (as of 2019). It operates more than 700 care sites and 142 hospitals in 21 states. Founded in 2019 by the merger of D ...

History

Founding

CHI began operations in 1996. The founding systems were the Catholic Health Corporation of

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, the Franciscan Health System of

Aston, Pennsylvania Aston Township is a township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 16,592 at the 2010 census. History Aston was first settled in 1682 as a municipality and was ...

, and the Sisters of Charity Health Care Systems of

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Expansion

In September 1997, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Health System in

Nazareth, Kentucky Nazareth is an unincorporated community and a historic site in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States, located about three miles north of Bardstown. The zipcode is: 40048. History In 1822, Nazareth became the new home of the Sisters of Charity o ...

consolidated with Catholic Health Initiatives. In March 1998, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in

Hankinson, North Dakota Hankinson is a city in Richland County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 921 at the 2020 census. Hankinson was founded in 1886. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND– MN Micropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office has been ...

transferred sponsorship of a hospital and eight clinics to CHI. In September 2010, Consolidated Health Services, a home care service provider with 30 locations in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and Indiana, joined CHI. Home health is later re-branded as CHI Health at Home. In May 2013, St. Luke's Episcopal Health System, a six-hospital system based in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, joined CHI as St. Luke's Health System. The organization included outpatient clinics in Houston and affiliations with

Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate Sc ...

, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic,

Texas Heart Institute The Texas Heart Institute is an independent, nonprofit organization that is improving cardiovascular health through trailblazing research, thought leadership, education, and patient care to forge a better future for those with cardiovascular diseas ...

, Texas Children's Hospital, and

MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...

. On April 1, 2014, Mercy Health of

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

signed a definitive agreement to transfer ownership of Mercy Hot Springs hospital and medical group to CHI St. Vincent. In June 2014, CHI St. Luke's Health Memorial of

Lufkin, Texas Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas and the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and about 60 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border. Its estimated population is 35,021 as of July 1, 2019. Lufkin was founded ...

joined CHI. In October 2014, CHI St. Alexius Health of

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The city's population was 73,622 in the 2020 census, while its metropolitan popula ...

becomes a direct affiliate of CHI, adding St. Alexius Medical Center and two critical access hospitals to the system. In November 2014, Sylvania Franciscan Health becomes part of CHI, adding St. Joseph Health System in the

Brazos Valley Brazos Valley ( ) is a region of the U.S. state of Texas comprising the following 7 counties in Central Texas: Brazos, Burleson, and Robertson (which collectively comprise the Bryan–College Station metropolitan area), and the neighboring coun ...

region of Texas; Franciscan Living Communities in Kentucky and Ohio; and three hospitals in eastern Ohio to the system In January 2016, Brazosport Regional Health System in

Lake Jackson, Texas Lake Jackson is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, within the Greater Houston metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,177. In 1942 a portion of Lake Jackson was first developed as a company town for wor ...

joins CHI St. Luke's Health, Houston. In December 2017,

and CHI announce a definitive agreement to merge. CHI has expanded since 2011, entering new states and expanding in existing ones. CHI also acquired the health insurer QualChoice, but was unsuccessful in its ownership; QualChoice is currently for sale.

2019 merger

In 2018,

and Catholic Health Initiatives received a merger approval from the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, through the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. Merged on February 1, 2019, as

, the new company formed as the largest Catholic health system, and the second-largest nonprofit hospital chain, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In January 2019, the KentuckyOne Health system decided to transition to the legacy of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Lexington's first hospital. Focusing on central and southern Kentucky, it is one of the largest health organizations in the

Commonwealth of Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. KentuckyOne Health system hospitals and clinics in the

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

area was later purchased by the University of Louisville's

UofL Health UofL Health is a fully integrated regional academic health system based in Louisville, Kentucky formed by the reorganization of KentuckyOne Health in conjunction with the acquisition of that system by the University of Louisville from Catholic Heal ...

Operations

Colorado-based CHI is one of the nation's largest health systems, operating in 18 states and comprising 104 hospitals, including four academic health centers and major teaching hospitals and 30 critical-access facilities; community health-services organizations; accredited nursing colleges; home-health agencies; and other facilities that span the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care. In fiscal year 2014, CHI provided $910 million in charity care and community benefit - a nearly 20% increase over the previous year - for programs and services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. Charity care and community benefit totaled more than $1.7 billion with the inclusion of the unpaid costs of Medicare. The health system, which generated revenues of almost $3.9 billion (FY 2018), has total assets of $5.1 billion.

Shareholder activism

CHI practices

shareholder activism A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal owner ...

by purchasing shares in publicly-traded corporations and engaging with corporate management on

environmental, social and corporate governance ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) data reflect the negative externalities (costs to others) caused by an organization with respect to the environment, to society and to corporate governance. ESG data can be used by investor ...

issues. Following the 2018

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...

, in example; Catholic Health Initiatives was the lead filer, co-filing with the

Adrian Dominican Sisters The Adrian Dominican Sisters is a Catholic religious institute of Dominican sisters in the United States. Their motherhouse is in Adrian, Michigan. Current Mission The Congregation serves in ministries education, health care, pastoral and retreat ...

, of a

shareholder resolution With respect to public companies in the United States, a shareholder resolution is a proposal submitted by shareholders for a vote at the company's annual meeting. Typically, resolutions are opposed by the corporation's management, hence the insis ...

asking firearms manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co. to report to investors regarding the steps they are taking to reduce

gun violence Gun-related violence is violence committed with the use of a firearm. Gun-related violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable), assault with a deadly weapon, a ...

. Ruger opposed the resolution.

BlackRock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a Enterprise risk management, risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackR ...

, the world's largest asset manager and Ruger's largest investor, as well as

Institutional Shareholder Services Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) is a proxy advisory firm. Hedge funds, mutual funds and similar organizations that own shares of multiple companies pay ISS to advise (and often vote their shares) regarding share holder votes. It i ...

and

Glass Lewis Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis) is a major American proxy advisory services company. As of spring 2019, Glass Lewis controlled 28% of the proxy advisory market for mutual funds; this makes it the second-largest company in the market behind Inst ...

, the two most important shareholder advisory firms in the United States, supported the resolution. At Ruger's annual meeting on May 9, 2018, 69 percent of shareholders voted in favor and Ruger agreed to heed the resolution. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence called the vote a "first-of-its-kind victory."

Controversy

In January 2013, the hospital's defense lawyers provoked controversy when they defended against a

wrongful death Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, l ...

lawsuit by arguing that unborn fetuses should not be classed as persons. This contradicted

Catholic doctrine Catholic doctrine may refer to: * Catholic theology ** Catholic moral theology ** Catholic Mariology *Heresy in the Catholic Church * Catholic social teaching * Catholic liturgy *Catholic Church and homosexuality The Catholic Church broadly ...

established by Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. When the case was submitted to the three bishops of Colorado for review, they issued a joint statement which reiterated their commitment to defending human dignity against attacks.

Divisions

*Arkansas Hospitals (CHI St. Vincent) **CHI St. Vincent Infirmary, Little Rock, Arkansas **CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs, Hot Springs, Arkansas **CHI St. Vincent Morrilton, Morrilton, Arkansas **CHI St. Vincent North, Sherwood, Arkansas *Centura Health, Englewood, Colorado (partnership with

AdventHealth AdventHealth (formerly Adventist Health System) is a Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist non-profit health care system headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida, that operates facilities in 9 states across the United States. Th ...

) *

MercyOne MercyOne (formerly Mercy Health Network) is a system of hospitals, clinics, and health care facilities in the U.S. states of Iowa, Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dak ...

, Des Moines, Iowa (partnership with Trinity Health) *Kentucky Hospitals (formerly KentuckyOne Health, now CHI Saint Joseph Health). VNA Health at Home and Amerimed locations are also part of Saint Joseph Health ** CHI Saint Joseph Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky **CHI Saint Joseph East, Lexington, Kentucky (formerly Jewish Hospital Lexington) **Continuing Care Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky **CHI Saint Joseph Health - Women's Hospital, Lexington, KY **CHI Saint Joseph Hospital, Berea, Kentucky (formerly Berea Hospital) **CHI Saint Joseph Hospital, London, Kentucky (formerly Marymount – Our Lady of the Mountain) **CHI Saint Joseph Martin, Martin, Kentucky **CHI Saint Joseph Mount Sterling, Mount Sterling, KY (formerly Mary Chiles Hospital) ** Flaget Memorial Hospital, Bardstown, KY *Minnesota Hospitals **CHI LakeWood Health, Baudette, Minnesota **CHI St. Francis Health, Breckenridge, Minnesota **CHI St. Joseph's Health, Park Rapids, Minnesota **CHI St. Gabriel's Health, Little Falls, Minnesota *Nebraska & Iowa Hospitals (

CHI Health CHI Health (formerly Alegent Health) is a regional healthcare network headquartered in Omaha. The combined organization consists of 28 hospitals, two stand-alone behavioral health facilities, and more than 150 employed physician practices in Iowa ...

) **CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center Bergan Mercy, Omaha, Nebraska **CHI Health Good Samaritan, Kearney, Nebraska **CHI Health Immanuel Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska **CHI Health Lakeside, Omaha, Nebraska **CHI Health Mercy, Corning, Iowa **CHI Health Mercy, Council Bluffs, Iowa **CHI Health Midlands, Papillion, Nebraska **CHI Health, Missouri Valley, Iowa **CHI Health Nebraska Heart, Lincoln, Nebraska **CHI Health Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center, Lincoln, Nebraska **CHI Health Saint Francis Medical Center, Grand Island, Nebraska **CHI Health Saint Mary's, Nebraska City, Nebraska *Saint Clare's Health System, Denville, New Jersey *North Dakota **CHI Lisbon Health **CHI Mercy Health **CHI Oakes Hospital **CHI St. Alexius Health *

Premier Health Partners Premier Health is a medical network of three hospitals and two major health centers in the Dayton, Ohio, Dayton region. Premier Health, which employs 14,000 workers, is the second-largest employer in the Dayton region and ninth-largest employer ...

, Dayton, Ohio (partnership) *

TriHealth TriHealth is a unified health system based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was originally formed in 1995. Currently the system comprises four general hospitals: Bethesda North, Good Samaritan In most contexts, the concept of good den ...

, Cincinnati, Ohio (partnership with Bethesda Inc.) *Oregon hospitals **CHI Mercy Health **CHI St. Anthony Hospital *CHI St. Joseph Children's Health (Pennsylvania) * CHI Memorial, Chattanooga, Tennessee *Texas hospitals **CHI St. Joseph Health **CHI St. Luke's Health *** Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, Houston, Texas *Washington hospitals: Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (2021 merger of Virginia Mason and CHI Franciscan) **Virginia Mason Medical Center **St. Anne Hospital **St. Anthony Hospital **St. Clare Hospital **St. Elizabeth Hospital **St. Francis Hospital ** St Joseph Medical Center **St. Michael Medical Center **CHI Franciscan Rehabilitation Hospital **Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital

References

External links

Official websiteCatholic Health Initiatives About Us page
{{authority control Arapahoe County, Colorado Charities based in Colorado Christian charities based in the United States Hospitals established in 1996 Hospital networks in the United States Catholic health care Catholic charities Religious corporations Medical and health organizations based in Colorado Catholic hospital networks in the United States