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In advance of this year's general election, Trinity Health launched Civics 101: Care for the Common Good Challenge.

The eight-week challenge is a virtual one. Once a week until Oct. 28, staffers are invited to watch a three- to four-minute video focused on an aspect of civics, such as the rights and duties of voters. Each video ends with a QR code that links to a quiz viewers can take to rack up bragging rights points.

"Their goal is this champion status," explains Tina Weatherwax-Grant, senior vice president, public policy and advocacy at Trinity Health. "We're hoping it's a fun, interactive way for colleagues to get this refresher on the importance of civics."

At SSM Health, the advocacy team has provided social workers and other frontline staff with guides on rules around voter registration and when and where voters can cast ballots. The information makes it easier for those workers to help patients exercise their right to vote.

Meanwhile, Providence St. Joseph Health has joined organizations supporting Proposition 35 in California. That initiative would make a tax on managed health care insurance plans permanent and require the revenue to be used for services provided through Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program.

As the general election nears, these and other Catholic health systems nationwide are using their advocacy resources to take stances on specific issues and to educate staff on the duties of the electorate and to encourage voting. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is doing the same, creating election-related resources around a theme of "Faithful Citizenship." The conference's resources, as well as some of those created by Catholic health systems, are available to the public.

At the top of its resources page, the conference has a quote from Pope Francis: "We need to participate for the common good. Sometimes we hear: a good Catholic is not interested in politics. This is not true: good Catholics immerse themselves in politics by offering the best of themselves so that the leader can govern."

While Catholic hospitals and systems are prohibited under the Internal Revenue Code from directly or indirectly participating or intervening in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to candidates for public office, as charitable organizations, they are permitted to conduct nonpartisan activities that educate the public and help them participate in the electoral process.

Democracy and Catholicism
Catholic health care executives in charge of advocacy say, like the bishops and the pope, they and other leaders of their systems see a clear connection between democratic civic engagement and Catholic teachings.

Ali Santore, who as part of her duties as executive vice president and chief administrative officer leads Providence's government team, says the system's "Vote for Health" campaign is an extension of its Catholic mission and the practices of its founding congregations.

"Providence, dating back to the Sisters of Providence and the Sisters of St. Joseph, has always been active in civic engagement and a deep advocate for the communities that we serve," Santore notes. "So, in Vote for Health, we're really extending that advocacy of our foundresses and letting people know that everyone is an advocate, that every voice and every vote has power."

The Vote for Health website encourages users to take four key actions:

• Register to vote and check out their status.
• Learn more about how and where to vote in their state and about important deadlines.
• Learn more about any health-related measures on their ballot and the issues that can shape the health of their communities.
• Get out the vote and participate in their local election.

"A lot of times, what's happening nationally is important, but there are even more local health care issues on the ballot that can be really impactful for not only health care reimbursement funding, but the social determinants of health," Santore points out. "Things like food security, mental health, housing — all of those issues that are so important to Providence and our mission — many times find themselves on the ballot."

Impactful issues
In Montana, one of seven western states Providence serves, the system is closely watching an issue that is not on the ballot but will be affected by the outcome of state races. Montana's Medicaid expansion program will expire next June unless lawmakers and the governor agree to extend it. The issue has become a hot topic in contests for state offices.

Providence is in support of the extension, which aligns with the system's policy priority to protect the health care safety net. "It's very important that our caregivers and the community in Montana understand that their vote is going to have a direct impact on Medicaid coverage in the state of Montana for that expansion population," Santore says.

Like Providence, Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California, part of Trinity Health, is in favor of Proposition 35. Saint Agnes serves thousands of Medi-Cal patients, as do the many Providence hospitals in California.

Civics lessons
Trinity Health's system-wide educational efforts, such as the Civics 101 challenge, are focused on familiarizing staffers with the system's advocacy work and helping them see the connection between good citizenship and the tenets of Catholicism. "We recognize that our Catholic teachings instruct us to promote the common good, and so we have a proactive advocacy agenda at Trinity Health that does just that," Weatherwax-Grant says.

Emails with the latest Civics 101 challenge video show up weekly in the inboxes of thousands of Trinity Health staffers who volunteered to be "Take Action Advocates" and speak out in support of the system's advocacy efforts. Even employees who aren't Take Action Advocates get internal communications inviting them to take the Civics 101 challenge; they just aren't getting direct emails.

Trinity Health's election-related communications also share the web address of the system's election center. That website provides links to information on elections, such as voting registration rules, deadlines and sample ballots, that can be personalized based on the voter's home address. That website is open to the public.

Weatherwax-Grant says the idea for Civics 101 came from Mike Slubowski, Trinity Health's president and CEO. She says he asked what the system could do to encourage staffers to remember and appreciate the value of civics. Conversations about how to achieve that started about 12 months ago, she says.

"And then we just thought, maybe six months ago, as we get in the thick of election season, people are going to be even more interested in this stuff, so how can we create really short, pithy, fun, interesting content that our colleagues can engage around? That was our objective," Weatherwax-Grant recalls. "We hope we met it."

Tools for staff
At SSM Health, Michael Richards, vice president of government affairs and public policy, says that the system isn't advocating for or against any ballot initiatives in the four states it serves. The system is providing frontline staff with resources around how, where and when to vote.

SSM Health also is encouraging staff to go to the polls. The advocacy team sent to all leaders in the system detailed state-specific information on such topics as voting registration deadlines. The team also provided a document that addresses frequently asked election-related questions.

"This is no different than making sure people have the resources to be healthy," Richards says. "You want them to also have the resources to be active in their community."

SSM Health also plans another communication listing what's on the ballots in each of the states but with no position.

Respectful reminders
Several systems are providing reflections that leaders can share at meetings and huddles to help center staffers while encouraging them to do their civic duty.

Given the intensity of the rhetoric around issues and races nationwide, advocacy and communications leaders say their systems are reminding staff to keep civil any discussions that touch on politics.

Victoria Wilson, a spokeswoman for PeaceHealth, says: "In alignment with our PeaceHealth values, we always encourage our caregivers to demonstrate compassion and understanding towards one another and be mindful of words and actions. We want to ensure all caregivers feel respected, safe and comfortable if and when sociopolitical conversations occur in the workplace."