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THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THIS WEBSITE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE USED IN ANY MANNER AS LEGAL ADVICE. LEGAL ADVICE OF ANY NATURE SHOULD BE SOUGHT FROM COMPETENT LEGAL COUNSEL IN THE RELEVANT JURISDICTION.

What The Center Does

The Center for Ethics and Advocacy in Healthcare exists to ensure that individuals become part of their own healthcare decision-making. The Center’s goal is to educate people to make wise decisions as they move through our present healthcare institutions. In order to implement its goal, The Center offers the following:

1. Ethics Education:

   The Center works to educate the community on ethical issues in healthcare. We provide education to the public on various topics, including:

   1. Spirituality and end of life issues,
   2. Conflict resolution within the context of family healthcare problems,
   3. Learning to live with chronic pain and suffering,
   4. Navigating one’s way through the healthcare system,
   5. The decision-making process.

   Healthcare education is often disease-specific. Healthcare ethics education should be person-specific.

   The Center educates on healthcare ethics through:

   6. Programs - Programs have included lecture series and guest speakers on numerous topics.
   7. Internship - The Center offers a summer internship program that educates young people on issues around quality of life-dying-death so that they might become life long advocates of ethics and justice in healthcare.
   8. Resource Library - The Center offers extensive resources for use in researching various healthcare issues. We use the Bioethics version of the Library of Congress classification system. The resources in community health are rich in quality and quantity.
2. Individual Counseling:

   The Center offers individuals the opportunity to talk through difficult medical decisions. Whether the dilemma is an issue around death and dying, continued treatment, or pain management, the key is to identify and protect a person’s values. The Center works to insure that the patient, together with the family and care-giving community make the ultimate healthcare decisions.

3. Mediation:

   The Center acts as an intermediary between individuals or the community and any established healthcare institution. The Center advocates for the person’s rights both in obtaining care and in making decisions.

   An extension of this work supports the effort to change public policy in our state’s healthcare system.

In addition to these activities and programs, The Center must be involved in fundraising since help is provided regardless of ability to pay.

The Center’s director is M. Margaret McDonnell, also known as Sister Peggy, a Nurse Practitioner in community health, an Ethicist, and a member of the congregation of Religious of the Sacred Heart. One part-time employee assists with internship supervision, counseling on healthcare resources, and administrative duties. The Center is non-denominational.