Brehany named to position with Catholic Medical Association

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
September 7, 2006

Mercy Medical Center's executive director of Mission Services and Ethics, John Brehany, Ph.D., S.T.L., has been named the new executive director and ethicist for the Catholic Medical Association (CMA), the nation's largest professional organization of Catholic doctors.

"It (CMA) started locally in New York and Chicago and came together as a national organization in 1932," said Brehany. "They have doubled their size to over 1,000 members in the last five or six years. They are looking forward to having a national impact. They have hired me to help them do that."

Brehany started his new position with the CMA on Sept. 1 and will oversee operations of the CMA at its new headquarters in Philadelphia, Penn., provide direction on health care ethics and public policy issues, support membership campaigns, serve as spokesman to the media, and coordinate the publications, advertising and ongoing development of the CMA.

"We are very pleased that John Brehany is joining the Catholic Medical Association," stated Thomas Pitre, M.D., CMA board president. "The board was looking for someone with the education and experience required to make the CMA a stronger, more effective organization. We are confident that we have found the right person."

Brehany holds a Ph.D. in health care ethics from St. Louis University, a licentiate in sacred theology from the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. and a master's in philosophy from University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. He received his undergraduate education at the University of San Francisco.

As executive director of Mission Services and Ethics for Mercy, Brehany was responsible for mission integration, ethics consultation and education, pastoral care and the community benefit ministry program.

"What prepared me at Mercy was being a member of the senior leadership team there. That is just great leadership experience," said Brehany. "I was on local boards here in Sioux City, so I had a lot of leadership experience that I think helps me to do this."

He continued that at the hospital he was the resource person for the ethics committee and worked with several physicians.

"The experience of knowing how a medium-size hospital works and how doctors in a hospital can work together are things that will enhance my position with the CMA," said Brehany.

Brehany explained that CMA has local guilds or chapters all over the country. CMA would like the local doctors to work with the Catholic hospitals, support the Catholic hospitals and build the Catholic health care ministry.

"That really takes teamwork in health care," said Brehany. "You have the hospitals that are big with several buildings, hundreds of beds and thousands of employees. They depend on physicians to want to bring their patients there and then to work with them to really offer quality care but also care that is ethical."

He noted that one of the goals of the CMA is "to help its members to be better supporters of the Catholic health care ministry."

Brehany added that while the organization began with only physicians as members, several years ago the membership was opened up to nurses, other health care professionals and lay people.

"It is an exciting new position that will let me not only work with a lot of great physicians, but work with other organizations - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, The National Catholic Bioethics Center and other think tanks that are trying to bring in an ethical and Christian approach to medicine," said Brehany. "The doctors who are involved in the organization are pretty active, pretty successful as a physicians, but they are also taking the time to really try to bring Christ to medicine and let their faith transform them."