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Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates...

UN Secretary General and Pope Leo meet for the first time

The Catholic Church is breaking up with the U.S. government. Here’s why it matters

The Catholic Church is breaking up with the U.S. government. Here’s why it matters

Catholic refugee programs in the U.S. have been reeling since President Donald Trump froze federal funding after returning to office

Published: April 7, 2025, 12:25 p.m. MDT

Archbishop Timothy Broglio conducts an Easter Sunday Mass at Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, Sunday, April 12, 2020. Archbishop Broglio has served as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops since November 2022. Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press

By Kelsey Dallas

Kelsey is an assistant managing editor for the Deseret News. She covers religion, sports and the Supreme Court.


U.S. Catholic leaders are ending their church’s 50-year partnership with the federal government and seeking new ways to help refugees.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced the change in a press release and Washington Post column on Monday, arguing that the Trump administration forced his denomination’s hand.

“The bishops’ decision came after the federal government suspended our cooperative agreements to resettle refugees. The drastic reduction of these programs forced us to reconsider the best way to serve the needs of our brothers and sisters seeking safe harbor from violence and persecution,” he wrote for The Washington Post.

2025 Religion and Foreign Policy Workshop: Bipartisan Religious Engageme...

Andrews University Is Joining The United Nations Climate Change Program

February 14, 2025 NewsHound




John Wesley Taylor brought to Andrews University some hope of reformation and ideological rebuilding of the drifting University.

According to this article in the Lake Union Herald, Taylor also brings with him an environmentalist worldview that buys into the United Nations climate change agenda.



Observations

Three decades ago, leftwing environmentalism was rebranded as “creation care” by an organization called the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN). This group receives a lot of funding from a Soros-funded think tank, New America, as well as the Clinton Global Initiative. The EEN also pushed for cap-and-trade legislation to curb carbon emissions.

Around the same time, ADCOM came out with four statements on environmentalism, two of which sound like they were written by AlGore himself and one that sounds eerily like things the Pope wrote in several of his green initiatives.

In her excellent book Shepherds For Sale, Megan Basham discusses how Christian leaders have been pressured to acknowledge climate change as an effect of systemic racism and to repent for it. Basham's book documents how progressive powerbrokers have tried to co-opt naive Christians for political gain.

In Shepherds for Sale, Basham reveals how Christian leaders have been pressured to: Whisper about sexual sins, Question the importance of abortion, Lament the effects of climate change, and Repent of “perpetuating systemic racism.

When the church trusts the world's wisdom instead of Scripture, it can lead to serious trouble.

Shepherds for Sale was an instant New York Times bestseller, and has grave implications for Adventists who are eager to climb on the climate change/global warming bandwagon.

Christian colleges (like Andrews) must remember that their existence makes sense only as a protest and an alternative to the dominant left-wing culture of academia.

Universities like Andrews join Climate Change initiatives under a guise of creation care, but it’s actually a sprint for a world government. If you can't see that you haven't been paying attention.

Giving recent revelations about entanglements with the United Nations becoming public, any effort of Andrews University to align themselves with the UN Climate Change agenda is a real bad look. That’s not reforming the University, it is taking it into dangerous waters.

If ADCOM wanted to actually do something useful they could issue a statement that Radical Environmentalism is an unbiblical veneration of creation over the Creator. I won’t hold my breath.

In fact, I’ll continue exhaling Co2.
Plants love it.

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BRICS Media Summit kicks off in Moscow to discuss global stability

#BHARAT: Biden, Modi announce economic corridor linking India to Middle East

 

 🐘Name changes🐍 

 -India is now BHARAT. 

-A few years ago, Calcutta became Kolkata. 

-Also, Bombay was changed to Mumbai.

ONE EARTH

ONE FAMILY

ONE FUTURE

Zelensky, BlackRock CEO agree to coordinate efforts to rebuild Ukraine

28.12.2022 12:00

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Larry Fink, CEO of the world's largest investment company BlackRock, discussed the coordination of efforts of potential investors and participants in the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The meeting was held in a video conference format, Ukrinform reports, referring to the president’s press service.

According to the preliminary agreements between Volodymyr Zelensky and Larry Fink, the BlackRock team has been working for several months on a project to advise the Ukrainian government on how to structure the country’s reconstruction funds.

The President and BlackRock CEO agreed to focus in the near term on coordinating the efforts of all potential investors and participants in the reconstruction of Ukraine, channelling investment into the most relevant and impactful sectors of the Ukrainian economy.

During the conversation, it was emphasized that certain BlackRock leaders plan to visit Ukraine next year.

The President thanked Larry Fink for the work of the professional team that BlackRock formed to structure the reconstruction projects.

As reported, the Ministry of Economy signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the investment company BlackRock to agree a framework for consultative assistance regarding the development of a special platform for attracting private capital to restore Ukraine and support the economy.

Photo: President’s Office

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Pope Francis’ efforts to clean up Vatican finances rewarded by the E.U.

Gerard O’Connell

November 30, 2018

Photo by Yeo Khee on Unsplash


In a decision that is seen as a recognition of the Vatican’s achievements at financial transparency under Pope Francis, the Board of the European Payments Council last week “approved the extension of the geographical scope of the Single Euro Payments Area to Vatican City State and the Holy See.”

The Vatican today announced the approval of its application to join S.E.P.A., which is a payment-integration initiative of the European Union for simplification of bank transfers in the euro currency that came into effect in 2014.

The Vatican statement explained that “S.E.P.A. harmonizes the way electronic euro payments are made across Europe. It allows European consumers, businesses and public administrations to make and receive credit transfers as well as direct debit under the same basic conditions and makes all cross-border payments in euro as easy as domestic payments.”

Participation in S.E.P.A. means that the Holy See and the Vatican City State will be able to move money using an IBAN code. This will first benefit the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly referred to as the Vatican Bank, and the administration that manages Vatican real estate, but in due course, the Vatican’s other financial institutions will also benefit.

Ever since his election as pope on March 13, 2013, Francis has sought to reform the Roman Curia, starting with Vatican finances.

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The Vatican said “it is foreseen that as of 1 March 2019, the S.E.P.A. schemes are open to the financial institutions of the Vatican City State/Holy See, once they have joined.” On that date, the following 36 countries will form part of S.E.P.A.: the 28 European Union Member States plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, the Principality of Andorra and the Vatican City State/Holy See.

“The successful application to S.E.P.A. is a very positive sign. It helps to facilitate payments and harmonizes such services. Furthermore, it demonstrates the Holy See’s efforts to enhance financial transparency,” according to René Bruelhart, a Swiss lawyer, whom Pope Francis appointed as the president of the board of directors of the Vatican’s Financial Information Authority, its anti-money laundering agency. He is the first layman to hold that position.

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Florida Hospital Will Soon Be AdventHealth

Sikh Association and Adventist Health Bakersfield Partner for Cancer Screening at Sikh Temple

4 July 2018 | Adventist Health Bakersfield is joining forces with Bakersfield Sikh Women’s Association for a preventative cancer screening. The Kaur Care Women’s Health Preventative Cancer Screening program will feature free breast exams and will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Sunday, July 8, at Gurdwara Guru Dashmesh Darbar, a Sikh place of worship in Bakersfield, California.

This is the first in a series of screenings that will be hosted by Kaur Care. It is named after Gurbinder Kaur, a mother who passed away from cervical cancer this year at the age of 43.

According to the Bakersfield Californian, Kaur’s cancer could have been detected early if she had received a routine pap smear.

An Adventist Health press release said that discussion of health issues is often avoided in the Sikh community. The program seeks to raise awareness in the community of the need for routine cancer screenings to improve early cancer detection.

Adventist Health Bakersfield, previously San Joaquin Community Hospital, is a 254–bed facility in Bakersfield, California which serves Kern County. Adventist Health runs 20 hospitals and over 280 clinics on the West Coast and in Hawaii. It also operates home care and hospice agencies. According to the Sacramento Business Journal, it is the third-largest private company in the Sacramento region with $3.95 billion in 2016 revenue. The system is affiliated with the Adventist Church.

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Adventist Health and St. Joseph Health announce new joint operation company

By: Curtis Driscoll cdriscoll@willitsnews.com

POSTED: Wednesday, May 16, 2018 - 12:01 a.m.
UPDATED: A DAY AGO


Adventist Health and St. Joseph Health have announced they will be forming a new joint operating company that will expand health care access in Mendocino, Humboldt, Lake, Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties.

Under the joint operating company, Adventist Health and St. Joseph Health would integrate clinical activities and services, while both would keep their existing hospital names, licenses, capital assets and employees, balance sheets and assets.

"Adventist Health and St. Joseph Health believe this is the right thing to do for the communities we serve," said Jeff Eller, Adventist Health president of the Northern California region. "Patients will benefit from more access points, better health outcomes, and controlled costs by coordinating their care across the spectrum of their health needs."

Eller said the agreement would improve quality and services to smaller communities in the Northern California region, like Willits, by partnering with other hospitals along the Highway 101 corridor.

Rather than having individual hospitals trying to manage alone, the health organizations hope that the strengths of having a more extensive organization gives them access to more sophisticated services regionally and keeps more patients closer to home than having to go to the Bay Area or beyond.

Avista Adventist Hospital hires new CEO from Florida

Health Care


Jillyan McKinney will begin as CEO of Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville on Nov. 20,… more

Provided by Avista Adventist Hospital

In This Article

Health Care Industry

By Ed Sealover

– Reporter, Denver Business Journal
2 days ago


Centura Health officials have appointed someone they consider a rising star in the Adventist Health System as the new CEO of Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville.

Jillyan McKinney, who has been the vice president of strategic business development for the Lake Nona and Sunbridge communities while at Florida Hospital in Orlando, will begin her new role on Nov. 20. She replaces Dennis Barts, who retired in August.

McKinney grew a reputation for aligning physicians better with the hospital and for improving overall health and well-being in her community, said officials at Centura, which is co-owned by Adventist and Catholic Health Initiatives. She initiated several major expansion projects there and facilitated jumps in both patient volume and profitability.

“McKinney has an infectious amount of energy,” said Edward Sim, president of Centura Health’s Mountains and North Denver Operating Group.

McKinney said in an announcement that she and her family “can’t wait to call this incredible community home.”

Source

P.S.

Centura Health

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Centura Health is a non-profit, faith-based health care system based in Englewood, Colorado which was formed in 1996 as a joint operating agreement between Catholic Health Initiatives and Adventist Health System.[1][2][3] The system expanded its operations into Kansas in 2011.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centura_Health

Southern Adventist University Partners With The Salvation Army For “Street Store” Service Project On MLK Day

Friday, January 13, 2017






Southern Adventist University is hosting a “Street Store” in partnership with The Salvation Army at 10:30 a.m. on Monday on the sidewalk in front of the Salvation Army, 800 McCallie Ave. If it rains, the store will move inside The Salvation Army. .

"Street Stores are sidewalk pop-up shops that offers a personal shopper to assist the homeless with free clothes, providing them with a dignified shopping experience as they try on and select their own garments," organizers said.

Shoppers will also be provided with soup, sandwiches, and entertainment at the end of their shopping experience. Approximately 100 Southern students, along with Salvation Army staff, will be volunteering at the event to assist with clothes and hand out free lunches for the “shoppers.” To watch a video about Street Stores, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDw0JtwQU8A.

This year marks the third year of the Chattanooga Street Store Project. The Salvation Army has been serving the homeless for 123 years in the Chattanooga area.



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New UN Secretary General could become key papal ally

Inés San Martín

October 7, 2016

VATICAN CORRESPONDENT



Antonio Guterres, U.N. high commissioner for refugees, fields questions about migration policy during the 12th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington Oct. 29. (Credit: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn.)

Assuming he's approved by the General Assembly on Oct. 17, former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is set to become the new U.N. Secretary General, and his background suggests he could become a key global ally of Pope Francis.



ROME- Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is set to become the next United Nations secretary-general, and as a Catholic Socialist with a deep concern for refugees and global justice generally, he could become a key ally of Pope Francis.

Guterres emerged as the Security Council runaway favorite on Wednesday, when all 15 members agreed to put his name forward to a formal vote, which happened on Thursday.

Having the support of the world’s super-powers: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, makes him first in line to replace South Korean Ban Ki-moon, though he still needs the approval of the U.N. General Assembly. The voting will take place on Oct. 17.

Guterres, a trained engineer who worked as an assistant professor before joining his country’s Socialist Party in 1974, led Portugal from 1995 to 2002. From there, he moved on to international diplomacy, becoming the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees in 2005, a post he held for a decade.

Fluent in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish, he’s a father of two. His first wife died in 1998, and in 2001 he married again.

He’s generally regarded as a man of moral integrity, well versed in the international sphere, and reform-minded: during the years he headed UNCHR, the UN’s refugee agency, Guterres reduced bureaucratic personnel by a third, sending more people to the field.

In his vision statement in applying for the position of secretary general, Guterres wrote of the challenges facing the world in terms of rising inequality, terrorism and organized crime, climate change and the proliferation of armed actors internationally.

All are issues about which Francis has often spoken, even producing a teaching document on the environment.

Last September, when addressing the UN’s General Assembly during his visit to New York, Francis called for an institutional reform that guarantees all countries have a genuine and equitable influence on decision-making processes.

He also warned against the body losing its pillar of integral human development and the ideal of saving future generations from war by becoming “idle chatter which serves as a cover for all kinds of abuse and corruption, or for carrying out an ideological colonization by the imposition of anomalous models and lifestyles which are alien to people’s identity and, in the end, irresponsible.”

The Portuguese Guterres visited the Argentine Pontiff in Rome on December 2013.

At the end of their private audience, Guterres said: “The Catholic Church has always been a very important voice in the defense of refugees and migrants. A voice of tolerance, of respect to diversity in an indifferent world, if not hostile, to everything that’s foreign.”

At the time, Guterres also said that in Europe, as in many developing countries, there’s an eruption of xenophobia. “Pope Francis not only indicates what must be the just doctrine for the Christian community, but he’s a personal witness,” he said, before praising the pontiff’s Evangelii Gaudium exhortation and his visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Speaking to Vatican Radio after the audience, Guterres also spoke about his previous visit to the Vatican, when he met with Benedict XVI. Then too, the former prime minister said, they had agreed on their positions on refugees.

On other social issues the Church has as key concerns, such as the protection of the life of the unborn, most of the information available on Gueterres dates to the late 1990s.

His country’s opposition accuses him of being key in the victory of the “no” vote on a 1998 referendum on abortion, despite being a member of the Socialist Party. He allowed for the voting to take place, but openly opposed abortion citing his personal convictions.

When a similar popular consultation was done in 2007, he remained quiet. The “yes” to abortion on demand during the first 10 weeks of the pregnancy won the second time around, but it was voided for low turnout. However, a bill allowing it was eventually passed that year.

Rapport between the Vatican and the United Nations, where the Holy See has an observer position, has always been good. Ban, the outgoing secretary general, visited Francis several times, the last time being this week, when the two leaders kicked-started a conference promoting sports at the service of the common good.

The two also worked together to guarantee the success of the Paris climate summit last year.

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What part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

From left, Ganoune Diop, Ted N.C. Wilson, Ban Ki-moon, Joseph Verner Reed, and John Graz. Photo: Evan Schneider / UN

Monday, April 6, 2015

Photo (Courtesy) http://www.adventistreview.org/church-news/story2513-adventist-church-president-holds-first-meeting-with-un-chief

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.


2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

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Adventist Church President Holds First Meeting With UN Chief

The two leaders discuss ways to help people and promote religious tolerance.

POSTED APRIL 6, 2015

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concerns about growing religious intolerance worldwide during a private meeting with Adventist Church leader Ted N.C. Wilson, and he invited the Seventh-day Adventist Church to work with the UN in helping people.

Wilson, the first Adventist Church president to meet with a UN chief, noted that the church has long supported religious liberty and said it was willing to team up on initiatives that followed Christ’s ministry of helping people physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually.

Ganoune Diop, associate director of the Adventist world church’s public affairs and religious liberty department, said his department takes Jesus’ words of being the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” in Matt. 5:13, 14 seriously.

“Its representatives mingle with political and religious leaders in every country without losing or compromising a distinctive Adventist identity,” said Diop, who attended the meeting.

Ban met with Wilson, Diop, and John Graz, director of the public affairs and religious liberty department, at 12:10 p.m. Monday for a 45-minute meeting in his office at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The meeting was arranged with the personal involvement of Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed, dean of the UN undersecretaries-general and a friend of Seventh-day Adventists, who regularly corresponded with Diop to make the meeting a reality, Diop said.

“It was a real privilege to meet the secretary-general and to hear his appeal for assistance for humanity,” Wilson told the Adventist Review.

“Seventh-day Adventists should be ready to witness for the Lord anywhere we go and to testify of God’s blessing in our lives and what we can do in His name,” he said. “The world is waiting for this type of heaven-inspired testimony with clear answers to today’s problems.”

From left, Ganoune Diop, Ted N.C. Wilson, Ban Ki-moon, Joseph Verner Reed, and John Graz. Photo: Evan Schneider / UN

Ban spoke about global issues such as poverty and a lack of education before voicing his concern about religious intolerance reaching unprecedented levels globally. Just last week, a militant Islamist group killed 148 people in an attack on Christians at a Kenyan university. IS and other extremist organizations in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Libya, and elsewhere have also targeted Christians and other religious groups with often-deadly violence in recent months.

Ban underscored his belief that people should cultivate a respect for all, including those of other faiths. He indicated that he appreciated the Adventist Church’s work in promoting religious liberty as well as education, health, and humanitarian aid through the Adventist Development and Relief Agency. ADRA has worked with the UN in assisting refugees in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Wilson thanked Ban for the meeting and told about various church initiatives that correspond with the UN’s mission to help people.

“We had an excellent meeting with the secretary-general and some of his staff, sharing with them about the Adventist Church’s activities,” Wilson said. “We focused on certain things that the Adventist Church can help with, such as religious liberty, freedom of conscience, ethical and spiritual values, respect for human dignity, family guidance, encouragement for young people, and basic human necessities like pure water and fundamental education.”

Wilson added: “It is only if we are led by the Lord that we can truly be effective in our outreach to the world preparing them for Christ’s soon coming by carrying out the practical ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit’s power.”

Earlier Monday, Ban held talks with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, whom Wilson incidentally met during a visit to the East African country in February.

At the meeting with Wilson, Graz gave a short report about major congresses organized by the church-affiliated International Religious Liberty Association that promote religious liberty and the church’s strong support of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which says everyone has the right “to change his religion or belief.”

Graz, secretary-general of the International Religious Liberty Association, said he was encouraged to see Ban’s concern about religious intolerance and desire to see people of goodwill work together to bring justice and freedom.

“It was a historic meeting between the UN secretary-general and the president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church about the state of the world and how we can help people living in very difficult environments,” Graz said.

“As disciples of Jesus, we want to help people and especially those who are voiceless, discriminated against, and persecuted,” he said. “In this way, we share the essential values of the UN.”

Diop said he also saw ways that the church and UN could cooperate, particularly in eradicating poverty and promoting education and healthcare.

“The impressive portfolio that the Seventh-day Adventist Church has developed for service to the whole human family remarkably resonates with the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN,” he said in a statement.

Source

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Inaugural Symposium on the Role of Religion & Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs

January 21, 2015 hosted by General Board of Church & Society/Seventh-Day Adventists (General Conference)/United Methodist Women/World Council of Churches


Live streaming video by Ustream



This symposium is the first in a series of annual lectures focusing on the intersections of the role of religion and international affairs. Purpose of the inaugural aymposium is to have an open discussion on the theory and practice of Human Dignity and Human Rights in the context of the shared vision and work of religious, ecumencial, and faith-based groups and U.N. and multilateral organizations.

Agenda

All times are based on the Eastern timezone.

8:45am - 12:45p

Morning Session with presentations from:

• Sung-ok Lee, Assistant General Secretary, Christian Social Action, United Methodist Women
• Dr. Ganoune Diop, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, General Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and The International Religious Liberty Association
• Shulamith Koenig, Founder of PDHRE, People’s Movement for Human Rights Learning (formerly PDHRE) and Recipient, 2003 U.N. Prize in the Field of Human Rights
• Prof. Elsa Stamatopoulou, Director, Indigenous Peoples Rights Program, Center for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University
• Rev. Liberato Bautista, Assistant General Secretary for United Nations and International Affairs and Main Representative to the U.N., General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church
• Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Former Under-Secretary General and High Representative of the United Nations
• Professor Heiner Bielefeldt, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief

2:00pm - 6:00p

Afternoon Session with presentations from:

• Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, Representative to the United Nations in New York, World Council of Churches
• Dr. Azza Karam, Senior Advisor on Culture, UNFPA
• Bishop Stacy Sauls, Chief Operating Officer, Missionary Society of The Episcopal Church
• Olav Kjørven, Director, Public Partnerships Division, UNICEF
• Pauliina Parhiala, Director and Chief Operating Officer, ACT Alliance
• Lopa Banerjee, Chief, Civil Society Section of U.N. Women
• Peter Prove, Director, Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, World Council of Churches
• Rev. Kathleen Stone, Executive for Economic and Environmental Justice and Representative to the United Nations, United Methodist Women

Hosted by General Board of Church & Society/Seventh-Day Adventists (General Conference)/United Methodist Women/World Council of Churches

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Source: http://umc-gbcs.org/calendar/symposium-role-of-religion

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Symposium on the Role of Religion in International Affairs




International affairs have very direct intersections with religion. Several Christian organizations that work with the United Nations have decided to address these intersections through an Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs.

The inaugural symposium in 2015 will be on human dignity and human rights. It is organized by the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, United Methodist Women and the World Council of Churches.

Co-sponsors include the African Methodist Episcopal Church Women’s Missionary Society, The Episcopal Church, General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and The Salvation Army.

The full-day programme of presentations and question-and-answer sessions involves high-ranking representatives of the United Nations and of faith-based organizations that are engaged in international affairs.

Download the programme (pdf, 25 KB, last updated: 17 December 2014)


Event details

When
21 January 2015


Where
New York City, United States - Attendance by invitation only.

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Source: https://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/events/symposium-on-the-role-of-religion-and-faith-based-organizations-in-international-affairs

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Report: Affiliation with Adventist Health will bring investment money for Lodi Memorial Hospital

Photo (Courtesy) https://www.linkedin.com/company/lodi-memorial-hospital

Posted: Saturday, March 14, 2015 12:00 am

By Jennifer Bonnett/News-Sentinel staff writer |

The blending of Lodi Health and Adventist Health will bring a $98 million capital investment in Lodi Memorial Hospital and related services over the next 13 years, according to a report prepared for the state Attorney General.

Adventist Health also plans to provide a $2 million donation to the Lodi Memorial Health Foundation under the proposed affiliation agreement.

Lodi Health’s top executives will become Adventist Health employees after the merger. Also included in the report: Adventist will encourage an environment conducive to “employees’ and patients’ Sabbath rest.”

The hospital, all clinics and other healthcare services will be likely maintained for at least five years, except for the Trinity Plaza Surgery Center. The Stockton facility closed in 2013, but Lodi Health still has part ownership.

The information comes from an 82-page consultant report known as a Health Care Impact Statement released Thursday.

It was prepared by a third party at the request of the Office of the California Attorney General to assess the potential impact of the proposed affiliation agreement between Lodi Health and Adventist Health System/West.

Reports like these typically run in the $8,000 range, according to Lodi Health spokeswoman Carol Farron, and Lodi Health will be billed for it by the attorney general.

What the affiliation might mean

Lodi Health has sought affiliation with a larger healthcare system because of financial concerns; the report revealed that as of Dec. 31, 2014, Lodi Health had an outstanding debt totaling approximately $145.4 million.

Under the deal, substantially all Lodi Health employees in good standing will be retained, although the top four administrative positions will become employees of Adventist Health, according to the report. They include the chief executive officer, chief nursing officer, chief financial officer and chief administrative officer.

The donation of $2 million to the foundation will be restricted, to be used exclusively in support of Lodi Health and its affiliates to further Lodi Health’s charitable mission of reaching out to the rural areas surrounding Lodi.

Under the proposal, Adventist Health may place limitations on the types of foods served at the hospital and affiliated healthcare facilities; and adopt policies to “encourage the creation of an environment conducive to employees’ and patients’ Sabbath rest.”

In is unclear what this might mean for Lodi Memorial Hospital, but at other Adventist hospitals, the Sabbath is celebrated from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday as a time for quiet rest and religious reflection. All patient services continue to be provided on Saturday, although most administrative offices are closed and the cafeteria hours are reduced.

In the end, the consulting firm that performed the report determined the proposed change in control and governance of Lodi Health is likely to improve the availability and accessibility of healthcare services in the communities served by the hospital. Access for Medi-Cal, uninsured patients, and other classes of patients will either improve or remain unchanged, according to the report.

The affiliation still requires the state Attorney General’s approval, expected shortly after a formal public hearing in Lodi later this month.

What the report recommends

If approved, the firm recommends for at least the next five years continuing to operate Lodi Memorial as a general acute care hospital and maintaining 24-hour emergency medical services at a minimum of 28 treatment stations with the same types and/or levels of services.

Additionally, the hospital will maintain:

• Acute rehabilitation services, including a minimum of eight rehabilitation beds.
• Adult day care services.
• Cardiac services, including the cardiac catheterization lab.
• Critical care services, including a minimum of 10 intensive care beds.
• Obstetric services, including a minimum of 16 obstetrics beds.
• Urgent care services.
• Women’s reproductive health services.

For at least five years, the hospital will also retain all of its Lodi care clinics, as well as those located in Ione and Galt.

Trinity Plaza Center has since sold all of its leasehold improvements and the majority of its equipment and supply inventories to a privately-owned operator of ambulatory surgery centers.

Under the agreement, Lodi Health will also continue to expend an average of no less than $801,365 annually in community benefit services including Camp Hutchins, the Fitness Center and the Walter E. Reiss Outreach Clinic.

What’s the next step?

The attorney general’s official public meeting, set for 2 p.m. on March 23 in the hospital’s West Wing, is being held to receive comments on the proposal and to consider the official Health Care Impact Statement prepared by the consultants, as required by state law. The full report can be read at www.oag.ca.gov/charities/nonprofithosp.

That law requires the Attorney General’s review and consent to any sale or transfer of a health care facility owned or operated by a nonprofit corporation whose assets are held in public trust, such as Lodi Memorial. This requirement covers health care facilities that are licensed to provide 24-hour care, such as hospitals and skilled nursing facilities.


Contact reporter Jennifer Bonnett at jenniferb@lodinews.com.

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