Spiritual Care

A Roman Catholic priest or deacon and Protestant ministers serve as chaplains to patients, families and staff. The chaplains can contact leaders of other faiths at our request. If you would like to receive communion or a visit from the clergy, speak to your nurse or call the chaplains directly. If your visitors would like a quiet spot for prayer, the Chapel, located near the Main Lobby, is always open.

Chaplains support the philosophy of total patient care expressed by our hospital and its administration. This philosophy seeks to include the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of all patients.

Our Chaplains:

• Work as members of the hospital care team
• Are sensitive and highly trained listeners who attend to the human and spiritual needs of patients and staff
• May offer prayer and/or sacraments when requested
• Are helpful with family counseling and crisis intervention in the Intensive Care Unit and the Emergency Care Center
• Provide reassurance and moral support for staff when difficult issues arise
• Will notify local religious leaders at the patient’s request

Volunteers

Assisting the Chaplains with daily visits to patients and in caring for their spiritual needs are trained area volunteers who serve as Eucharistic Ministers.

Pastoral Care demonstrates a dedication to human dignity, an appreciation for individual differences, a balance of acceptance and accountability, a dedication to justice and mercy, and an incarnation of love and hope. The Chaplain crosses institutional, economic, cultural, and ecclesiastical boundaries to represent a God who has demonstrated a desire for wholeness in human life.