<P> The Methodist Church, among other Christian denominations, was responsible for the establishment of hospitals, universities, orphanages, soup kitchens, and schools to follow Jesus's command to spread the Good News and serve all people . In Western nations, governments have increasingly taken up funding and organisation of health services for the poor but the Church still maintains a massive network of health care providers across the world . In the West, these institutions are increasingly run by lay - people after centuries of being run by priests, nuns and brothers, In 2009, Catholic hospitals in the USA received approximately one of every six patients, according to the Catholic Health Association . Catholic Health Australia is the largest non-government provider grouping of health, community and aged care services, representing about 10% of the health sector . In 1968, nuns or priests were the chief executives of 770 of America's 796 Catholic hospitals . By 2011, they presided over 8 of 636 hospitals . </P> <P> As with schooling, women have played a vital role in running and staffing Christian care institutions--in Methodist hospitals, deaconesses who trained as nurses staffed the hospitals, and in Catholic hospitals, through religious institutes like the Sisters of Mercy, Little Sisters of the Poor and Sisters of St. Mary--and teaching and nursing have been seen as "women's vocations". Seeking to define the role played by religious in hospitals through American history, the New York Times noted that nuns were trained to "see Jesus in the face of every patient" and that: </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> "</Td> <Td> Although their influence is often described as intangible, the nuns kept their hospitals focused on serving the needy and brought a spiritual reassurance that healing would prevail over profit, authorities on Catholic health care say . </Td> <Td>" </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> "</Td> <Td> Although their influence is often described as intangible, the nuns kept their hospitals focused on serving the needy and brought a spiritual reassurance that healing would prevail over profit, authorities on Catholic health care say . </Td> <Td>" </Td> </Tr>

Guided reading & analysis western europe after the fall of rome