Recognizing that health is influenced by the
spiritual, emotional, mental and social aspects
of our lives as well as the physical, the
Pastoral Care Department at Roper St. Francis
HealthCare provides spiritual care as an integral
part of the care of the whole person. To support
that philosophy of holistic care, chaplains
are available throughout both hospitals during
the working day, Monday through Friday, and
through an on-call system to cover the evenings,
weekends and holidays.
Illness is usually regarded as a crisis by the patient and family, especially when recovery is a lengthy process or the outcome is in doubt. Chaplains are often able to help people reflect on their feelings and concerns in a way that enables them to move through their fear and anxiety to a point of enhanced spiritual and emotional stability. Spiritual care by the chaplain may also take the form of prayer, reading of scripture or other religious acts, according to the patient's or family's expressed need. A key element in effective spiritual care is helping people identify and get in touch with their own resources of spiritual support. That may involve facilitating visits by the patient's own community clergy. The Department also arranges for volunteers, who are Catholic Lay Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist from local parishes, to bring Holy Communion to Catholic patients throughout the week and on weekends.
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