Health Care Thoughts

The ongoing debate around access to health care continues. People have become vocal with varying opinions and emotions are running high. I will be the first to say that I don’t think we need huge government and I don’t know how we are going to pay for a lot of what has already been spent via the recent bailout of several financial institutions. However, there are people in this country─some poor and some who simply have unusual circumstances─that need access to health care. They need it because they are sick or suffering.

I recently heard a story about a 59-year-old construction worker who could no longer work due to bad knees. He could barely stand. When he visited a Federally Qualified Health Center, the doctors worked with him. The treatment: give him pain medication until he reaches the age to qualify for Medicare; then, he can get the two knee replacements he needs. So for the next few years, this gentleman is going to suffer in pain, struggling to walk and he will wait. Guess what? He is waiting for government senior care to kick in.

What a sad commentary for a country with supposedly the best health care in the world. We may have the best health care but it says a lot about our system when these types of scenarios occur. Insurance companies are unhappy, doctors are unhappy and pharmaceutical companies are unhappy. Why? Because it threatens their bottom line and it weakens their market share and they will make less money, pure and simple. If I were a doctor or a big insurance company executive, I might not like that either.

However, health care should not be a privilege but a human right. People were put on this earth through no decision that involved them, and everyone’s health should be something we all care about – mine and yours. Right now, our uninsured are wandering into hospital emergency rooms and seeking assistance where medical care is at its highest cost. Hospitals are then forced to write off the expense and those that are insured end up paying more. What is right about that system?

I do not know what the answer is and do not profess to be a health care expert by any stretch of the imagination. However, as caring and compassionate human beings, we need to do some serious thinking about what is the “right thing to do.” Families are struggling through tough economic times and so are businesses. We don’t need bigger government, but we do need a plan that will allow any human being on this earth the opportunity to have or buy health care and not break the budget doing it. Cut through all the spin, scare tactics and opinions and this should be where we end up. Life is filled with challenges and sacrifices. People’s health should not be number one on the sacrifice list, particularly if your wallet is really thin. It’s just not right.


Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina.

Foundations Must Strike Balance

Foundations must find a way to create balance during difficult economic times. It is without question that all foundation assets are down significantly since mid 2008. It was an unavoidable consequence of the U.S. economic downturn. Here is the dilemma. Should foundations spend into their corpus to maintain a consistent spending level when they know their assets have dropped by several million dollars? This is where the balance part comes into play.

Foundations have to spend into the corpus at some level but cannot afford to spend too much and, as a result, put the foundation’s long-term viability at risk. If a foundation is going to survive and thrive for decades to come, then it must be realistic and pragmatic about its funding decisions. On the other hand, nonprofit organizations cannot be left “high and dry.” Thus, foundations are finding creative ways to provide some funds─albeit reduced─and also provide other services to enhance the work of nonprofit organizations and their leaders. An example of these supplementary services is the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina Learning Academy’s leadership tract, offering nonprofit executive directors graduate-level training and credit in effective leadership strategies, and its forthcoming distance learning opportunities throughout the state.

Foundations have to partner too. The Sisters of Charity Foundation collaborates with the South Carolina Department of Social Services, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia College, Columbia Chamber of Commerce, United Way of the Midlands and the Central Carolina Community Foundation. The two latter partners and the Foundation are working to leverage a Bank of America grant to assist and address issues around the merging of struggling and failing nonprofits.

It is certain that our Foundation’s available grant funds will be less in 2010 than they were in 2009. However, through creativity and balance we plan to accomplish as much or more than ever next year. Through capacity building, listening sessions, knowledge sharing, distance learning opportunities, social media and other communications tools and more workshops for nonprofit staff and volunteers, we will make an impact next year. This is all in addition to the grant funds that we will still distribute. Though, fewer funds will force us to be more focused and have even higher expectations and a higher level of confidence in our potential grantees.

We must continue to be willing to shift out of our own comfort zone and capture opportunities in a new and different way. There is a fine line for foundations between protecting their existence and accomplishing their mission. The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina and other foundations must be proactive and strike the perfect balance between our missions and long-term survival. We understand the complexities of this situation and that a lot of other people and organizations are effected by our decisions. The Sisters of Charity Foundation will continue to be a foundation of mission and purpose. That is our first and most important priority. Survival is important too, and we are putting the necessary tools in place to insure that a fine balance is reached both for 2010 and long into the future.


Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina