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DAMOND BOATWRIGHT
2023-2024 Chairperson
CHA Board of Trustees
President and Chief Executive
Hospital Sisters Health System, Springfield, Illinois

We all know that these are complex and challenging times. We face financial and workforce challenges, disparities in health outcomes and income distribution, unprecedented polarization in our society, and the distrust of most institutions. Some of these challenges might seem insurmountable. They can weigh on us all — from senior administration to the frontline workers — so much so that we might doubt that these trials can ever be overcome. Our faith tradition and the Catholic health ministry's history shows that they can.

In John 5, Jesus meets a paralyzed man lying by a pool. The man is one of many people at the pool and he tells Jesus that he cannot make it down into the pool. Jesus says to the man, "Rise! Pick up your mat and walk!" After 38 years of illness, the man does just that. He gets up and walks.

Within our organizations, we have many examples of people inspired by a loving encounter with Jesus to rise and serve with faith, strength and courage. The founders and foundresses of our organizations often faced hardships. They responded to the call to serve with a resounding, "Here I am, Lord," and they found creative ways to meet evolving needs within the communities they served. What started as care in homes and on the streets is now a $4.2 trillion industry.

Today, we are the pioneers of health care. God gives each of us the strength to pick up our mat and take the work of CHA forward.

As your new CHA board chair, I want to issue a call to action to unite around our new CHA vision statement: "We will empower bold change to elevate human flourishing."

Our vision calls us to unite to bring about systemic shifts. Given our commitments to human dignity and the common good, we must advance a more equitable, just and sustainable health care funding system that promotes shared responsibility of all stakeholders for the health and wellness of every person.

Our vision calls us to unite in designing and delivering the highest quality of care for optimal health outcomes across the full continuum of care.

Our vision calls us to unite in advancing access for every person, and especially those who are low-income or vulnerable. As Jesus in John 5, we must listen to the distinct experiences of those burdened by economic, physical, or social marginalization. Amidst a multitude of people with various ailments, Jesus specifically sought out the man who couldn't make it to the pool: A man marginalized even within an already marginalized group. As Catholic health care, we must seek out the marginalized and reduce health disparities.

As the U.S. Catholic health ministry, we must look forward with hope and courage. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Please know that each of you matters in pursuing our future: By being part of U.S. Catholic health care, in whatever role you hold, you embody God's healing and unifying love. Your work matters within our collective efforts to empower change.

I am sincerely honored to serve as the next board chair of the Catholic Health Association, and I pledge to represent the association and each of you to the best of my abilities.

May God bless you and the communities you serve. And may God bless and guide CHA as we seek to extend the healing love of our God to the patients, colleagues and communities that we serve.

Pace e Bene!