We are very glad that you have decided to trust your care to us at Immaculate Heart of Mary Family Health Center (IHMFHC). It is our privilege to serve you and your loved ones. We value the patient/doctor relationship, and this relationship is guided by our understanding of the human person. We believe that each person entrusted to our care is made in the image of God and has been gifted both with existence and nature as man or woman with an ability to know the truth and love the good, and has eternity as their ultimate destiny. We are stewards of these gifts.
It is because we value life from conception to natural death and believe that each person has God, who is all Good and Merciful, as their end that we seek the well-being of each person physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We are committed to the highest level of patient care and practice according to the Ethical and Religious Directives of the Catholic Church (ERDs).
It is because we seek the good of each of our patients and see each life called to the greatest happiness that we:
Encourage the virtue of chastity and the right ordering of an individual’s sexuality. We promote Fertility Based Awareness methods at IHMFHC, particularly the Creighton model and NaPro Technology, which cooperates with a woman’s body, upholding good medical practice and the good of the person and environment. NaPro technology honors the fertility of men and women, seeing it as a marker of health. It identifies and treats the underlying medical condition causing the pathology and restores or preserves future fertility. For these reasons, we do not prescribe any artificial contraception for the purpose of inhibiting human life, nor do we refer to any procedure for that purpose.
See our biological nature as man or woman as a gift from God and not something that we “create” or “determine for ourselves.” We support our patients coming to an integration of their sexual identity and assist in healing emotional or psychological wounds. Because of this commitment to our patient’s well-being and the highest level of medical care, we do not prescribe or refer for any gender-transitioning medications or surgery. Medications such as PDE5 inhibitors, which are commonly used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), are not prescribed to unmarried men simply to treat ED.
Marriage is a covenant relationship by which a man and woman establish a life-long partnership of fidelity and love, which is ordered by their happiness, procreation, and the education of children. We support healthy marriages and family life. We promote teen chastity and encourage healthy lifestyle choices, both physically and spiritually.
We appreciate the trust you have placed in us and look forward to serving you and your family at Immaculate Heart of Mary Family Health Center.
Charles Armstrong, DO
Sr Edith Mary Hart, RSM, DO, FAAFP