Sister Carol Keehan, the CEO of the Catholic Health Association, has been at the center of some of the most important intersections of Catholicism and politics in the last years. In this talk, she'll address the changing role of Catholic health care in light of such developments as the Affordable Care Act and the controversy surrounding access to contraceptives in the health plans of employees at Catholic institutions.

Sr. Carol Keehan, D.C. is president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA).  Keehan worked in administrative and governance positions at hospitals sponsored by the Daughters of Charity for more than 35 years. Most recently, she was the board chair of Ascension Health's Sacred Heart Health System, Pensacola, Fla.  Keehan has held influential roles in the governance of a variety of health care, insurance, and educational organizations. She was a representative to the International Federation of Catholic Health Care Associations of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Health Care. She serves on the board of Catholic Relief Services, Baltimore. She has served on the boards of the Catholic Health Association of the United States, of which she is a past chairperson; Catholic Healthcare Partners, 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, Washington, DC, and serves on the finance committee of the Archdiocese of Washington.  Her numerous awards and honors include the American Hospital Association's Trustee Award; the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (Cross for the Church and Pontiff), bestowed by Pope Benedict XVI; and the American Cardinals' Encouragement Award. Keehan was named in 2010 one of TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" and has been on Modern Healthcare's list of "100 Most Influential People in Healthcare" several years, having topped the list as number one in 2007.