In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system pares religious ties

Catholic Healthcare West, one of the nation's largest hospital systems, is ending its governing board's affiliation with the Catholic Church and changing its name, two steps intended to help the system expand throughout the states in which it operates—California, Arizona and Nevada—and beyond. The changes underscore the unique challenges facing Catholic hospitals in the marketplace, where there are tremendous financial pressures for hospitals to merge or form formal alliances with other health care providers in order to survive and thrive.