2016 Annual Rev. Bernie Clark, C.S.C. Lecture

“Catholic Health Care’s Role in Integral Human Development”

Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, RN, MS  is the ninth president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA). She assumed her duties as of October 10, 2005. She is responsible for all association operations, both at its St. Louis and Washington, DC offices.

Sr. Carol worked in administrative and governance positions at hospitals sponsored by the Daughters of Charity for more than 35 years. Prior to joining CHA, she was the board chair of Ascension Health’s Sacred Heart Health System, Pensacola, Fla. Previously, she served for 15 years as president and chief executive officer of Providence Hospital, which includes Carroll Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in Washington, D.C. In the early 1980s, she served as Providence Hospital’s vice president for nursing, ambulatory care, and education and training. In addition, she has served in leadership positions at Sacred Heart Hospital, Cumberland, Md., and Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital and Regional Perinatal Intensive Care Center, Pensacola, Fla.  

Sr. Carol has held influential roles in the governance of a variety of health care, insurance, and educational organizations. In 2014, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine). She is a representative to the International Federation of Catholic Health Care Associations of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Health Care. She has served on the boards of Catholic Relief Services, Baltimore, Md.; the Catholic Health Association of the United States; Catholic Healthcare Partners (now Mercy Health), Cincinnati; St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore; Mercy Health System, Miami; Catholic Healthcare Audit Network, Clayton, Mo.; and SOAR! (Support Our Aging Religious), Silver Spring, Md. In addition, she has been a member of several health, labor and domestic policy committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and serves on the finance committee of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.