U of L and KentuckyOne Health announce partnership that keeps women's health services intact at University Hospital

The University of Louisville and KentuckyOne Health have reached a partnership agreement that will leave the resolution of any "moral roadblocks" up to a higher authority. U of L President James Ramsey said the partnership will allow the hospital board to continue its control over the public entity, a principle that scuttled an earlier deal with Catholic Health Initiatives, which then formed KentuckyOne with Jewish Hospital. Gov. Steve Beshear signed on to the agreement, after killing the first one.

The goals of a public institution that provides all women's health services -- including reproductive and end-of-life care -- were not the same goals of those espoused by the Roman Catholic Church. The new agreement seems to have solved that issue by continuing to allow the hospital's pharmacy and Center for Women and Infants and to provide the same services as they did before, reports Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal. The services will be provided by the same people as currently, the partners said. This includes all reproductive services.

The Archdiocese of Louisville said in a statement that it was not part of the negotiations but that there were no more “moral roadblocks” to its continued official recognition of KentuckyOne as a Catholic entity. The archdiocese said the partners involved “have committed to respecting one another’s traditions, missions, and values, including our own Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.” (Read more)