Spiritual Care

Spiritual Care

Before the privacy laws, hospitals would often contact spiritual care providers to visit patients of their denomination. The current privacy laws are vitally important, but they prevent this sort of contact. Today, patients, friends, or family members must contact the appropriate spiritual care for themselves or their loved ones.

Hospital chaplains still exist and are available upon request. To request spiritual care, you may either call a provider directly or ask unit staff to contact them for you. The archdiocese has up-to-date information on who the providers in the diocese are and how to contact them.

What is Spiritual Care?

Health means wholeness - body, mind, and spirit.

Spiritual care is about responding to human suffering with care, understanding, and compassion for the whole person, with particular focus on the person's spirituality.

Spiritual care gives patients and their loved ones the ability to deal with sickness, find hope and peace in the midst of suffering, and bring purpose and meaning to both living and dying.

Spiritual care providers are people who:

• Listen to your fears, concerns and needs.
• Help you identify who or what is important to you.
• Help you identify what you believe
• Help you ask your own questions and help you find your own answers
• Help link you with your own religious or spiritual community, if you wish

Spiritual care providers are available for many faiths. If you wish to contact a provider for a person of a different faith, you can ask the unit staff.

*With thanks to Angela Fraser of Living Skies Spiritual Care for permission to use much of the content of her brochure for this web page.

Parish-Provided Spiritual Care

St. Martin's Care Giving Ministry provides ministry to shut-ins, the bereaved, communion to the sick, or any other needs. You can also request a hospital visit or prayers for yourself or your loved ones. See our Parish Services.