Spiritual Care is a ministry of healing which provides emotional and spiritual support to patients, their families, and hospital staff. The Chaplains work as part of the healing team in conjunction with physicians, nurses, and other caregivers. Spiritual Care may include responding to crises, assisting persons in the resolution of ethical questions regarding patient care, contacting pastors, priests, rabbis, or other religious representatives as requested, and providing ongoing spiritual support.
We provide a coordinated service of spiritual care to patients, their families, and the hospital staff. Spiritual care is affirmed as an integral part of the team approach to health care, therefore, we take pride in ministering to the needs of the whole person - body, mind and spirit. Our ministry includes:
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Prayer
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Offering support
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Listening
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Providing sacraments or rituals
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Conflict resolution
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Communication
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Contacting your minister
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Assisting with difficult decisions
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Helping obtain information
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Being a spiritual resource in the time of crisis
Meet Our Pastoral Care Team
The Spiritual Care staff at St. John Hospital is under the direct leadership of Pastor Corey L. Kennard and consists of interfaith staff chaplains, on-call chaplains and spiritual care volunteers that all work together with other staff members to foster a caring and supportive presence throughout the hospital.
Our staff chaplains are specially trained to provide holistic spiritual care to persons of all religious faiths, including those without any religious affiliation. We are available for Spiritual counseling, crisis intervention, prayer, communion, bereavement counseling, and other functions. We will also contact your Spiritual Faith Leader or family member upon request. Faith Leaders from all denominations are welcome and encouraged to visit with their congregational members.
Our spiritual care volunteers represent the Spiritual Care Department. These individuals supplement and complement its ministry of healing by serving within an ecumenical perspective informed by and respectful of a broad variety of religious traditions.
Contact Us
You can contact the Spiritual Care team by calling (313) 343-7850 between the hours of 8am and 9:30pm Monday-Friday, and 8am-4:30pm Saturday, Sunday and Holidays. After the hours just indicated, please contact the hospital operator to reach an on-call chaplain. (Note: patients can also make their request for pastoral care through their nurse).
Requests and Referrals
Patients and families of all faiths can request a visit with a Chaplain. Any member of the health team can assist with making a referral. People call on chaplains for a number of reasons. Some of the most common reasons include:
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Apprehension about surgery
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Overwhelming illness
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Loneliness and isolation
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Discouragement and despair
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Helplessness and hopelessness
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Loss of meaning and purpose
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Fear and anxiety
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Conflict with others
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Facing change and loss
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Struggling with the meaning of life
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Feeling cut off from God
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Grappling with questions about life and death
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Needing the comfort of prayer
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Decisions regarding a living will and advance directives
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Working through the loss of a loved one
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Facing ethical dilemmas
Our Chapel
If you need a quiet, meditative space, or are looking for an opportunity to worship, SJH&MC provides you with this resource as well. Our Chapel is located on the 1st floor and is always open. A prayer book is also available to those who wish to offer their prayers in writing or to request prayers.
Programs and Services
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Mass (Catholic Worship Service). As scheduled Monday-Friday at 11:30am and Every Saturday at 4pm.
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Television. The Chapel is always available for viewing on channel 57 on SJH&MC televisions. Mass and special public services are able to be viewed when they occur, otherwise reflective music can be heard while the chapel is viewed.
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Anointing of the Sick. The Spiritual care department can be contacted to make arrangements for this service.
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Communion. This service is available to all Catholic and Non-Catholic Christians as requested.
Palliative Care
Your SJH&MC physician brings the most advanced technology, research, and expertise available to treat illness. However, you may not know that SJH&MC offers a very specialized team to work with your physician to help relieve physical, spiritual, and emotional suffering while helping promote quality of life.
The Palliative Care Team members work together to provide coordinated care for people with life-threatening illnesses, their families, and significant others. The Palliative Care Team members can help patients cope with pain, anxiety, and provide relief, all while still receiving aggressive treatments.
Palliative Care Service is available Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm. Contact Mary Hicks or Kathy Blazoff, Nurse Practitioners at 313-343-3072 or 3076. Otherwise, dial the hospital operator for an available team member.
Team Members Include:
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Your physician
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Other physicians and advanced practice nurses who specialize in recommending medications or treatments to help relieve pain and symptoms caused by illness or aggressive curative treatment
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Nurses with advanced training in life-threatening illness and coordinating care in the hospital
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Social workers with advanced training in counseling patients and family members. They will also provide information about community resources
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Chaplains who offer spiritual and emotional support, counseling, and coping strategies for patients and their family according to their faith and individual needs.
Services Include:
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Managing difficult symptoms, such as pain, nausea, anxiety, fatigue, depression, shortness of breath, constipation, loss of appetite, and other symptoms that may accompany serious illness or side effects of aggressive treatments
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Managing lifestyle goals around new physical limits
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Finding meaning in illness
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Dealing with new family issues
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Finding support for a caregiver
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Reevaluating changing goals of care
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Discussing Advanced Directives
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Helping discuss treatment choices for chronic illnesses
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End-of-life care for patients, their families and significant others
Addressing Changing Goals of Care:
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Helping patients consider care options as they make decisions about the quality of life
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Discussing the positives and negatives of care such as tests, surgeries, or medications
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Helping patients or families decide when to start or stop certain treatments
Enhancing Patient, Significant Other, and Family Support by:
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Helping identify what is important to the patient and family, and conveying this to physicians
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Supporting communication in complicated family situations
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Providing spiritual and emotional support throughout the course of illness
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Promoting well being and peace of mind
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Promoting the best quality of life
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Identifying issues and resources needed for a safe transition as patients leave the hospital
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Supporting the patient and family when death is near
