Main Street Journal: Opinion Editorial: The Role of the Faith Community in the Health Care Debate

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The following article is taken from the October 2009 issue of the Main Street Journal. Click “Subscribe Online” above to start your subscription.

The role of the faith community in the health care debate
By Dr. Scott Morris, Church Health Center

Everyone knows that our health care system is broken and that the status quo is indefensible, but what can we, as people of faith, do to bring real change to our nation’s health care system and make all of us healthier?

First, the world needs to see us act in accordance with our faith. Yes, we need to care for the sick, but we also need to work just as hard to make sure people stay healthy. I believe this not because it is morally correct (it is) but because it is Christian. I am a Methodist minister and a medical doctor, and I hold strong to John 10:10: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” My faith has guided me to believe that we need to care for the entire person – not just when someone becomes sick. Luckily, this is also good medicine.

But good medicine isn’t practiced in hospitals and clinics alone. In fact, the best medicine is practiced before someone ever gets to one of those places. The faith community has direct role to play in caring for the entire person.

The Church Health Center is a great example of what a motivated faith community can do. We have become the largest faith-based center of our type in the country because people of faith have made our mission theirs, and they’re doing more than writing checks. They’re coming to our wellness center, and they’re bringing their families, their friends and their pastors. Our wellness center, Hope & Healing, logged more than 120,000 member visits last year. We put a dollar into prevention for every dollar we spend on patient care for that very reason.

I know that not everyone will come to our wellness center, but millions of people go to church. Imagine the difference the faith community could make! Local churches, synagogues, or mosques could become such places of wellness and prevention. We need to motivate faith communities to take the lead in caring for their congregations and communities. We need the dedicated faithful to fight for access for all, yes, but also to do the hard work of caring for the entire person. At the Church Health Center, we’ve trained more than 750 Congregational Health Promoters to start or strengthen health ministries within congregations. This is a first step in providing basic information and support at the local level.

Critics say that paying for preventive services isn’t cost effective, but we’ve only invested a miniscule amount of our research dollars in answering the questions of what real prevention should look like. There’s no financial incentive to do so. This must change. Keeping people healthy, especially the people in our work force, makes much more sense than treating people when they can no longer work.

In John 10:10, Jesus calls for a life lived to the full. This work never ends. People of faith have a direct role to play in this within the walls of their houses of worship. We must support, love, and minister to each person in our communities. And in this model, you receive much more than you give.

Dr. Scott Morris is the founder and executive director of the Church Health Center in Memphis. The Center’s ministries provide healthcare for the working uninsured and promote healthy bodies and spirits for all. Dr. Morris is also the associate minister at St. John’s United Methodist Church. For more information about the Church Health Center, call (901) 272-7170 or visit www.churchhealthcenter.org.

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