Spiritual Health Services in a Hospital

An Organizational Primer

Introduction:

XXX Hospital offers all kinds of services that will facilitate resolution of health problems and promotion and maintenance of biopsychosocial as well as spiritual well-being of its clients – or health.

Spiritual health services is one of the services that XXX Hospital offers.

Goal:

To provide spiritual health services to clients of XXX Hospital, both internal as well as external clients.

Objectives:

1. To provide spiritual health services integrated into the medical and nursing services.

2. To provide facilities that will promote spiritual well-being.

3. To facilitate referrals to specialists in spiritual health services requested by clients

Organizational Chart:

Reports to the Operations Officer (Administrative Officer)

Staff

At least 2 sisters and 1 priest

Number determined by workload.

Head

Assistant Head

Facilities:

List of facilities and equipment needed based on list of services and activities:

Office

Office near chapel and prayer room

Conference room within the office

For meeting and training of staff

For counseling of clients

Chapel*

Prayer room**

*An ecumenical chapel is preferred.

Note, however, if Catholic nuns and priests will be running the spiritual

health services, they would prefer to have a Catholic chapel rather than an ecumenical chapel. The main reason for this preference is more on facilitating placement and keeping of statues and the other Catholic paraphernalia needed (which will be cumbersome when they will convert the ecumenical chapel into a Catholic one during their services). The Catholic nuns, however, are amenable to having a prayer room for the nonCatholics adjacent to the Catholic chapel.

**If a Catholic chapel is to be built, a prayer room should be provided for the nonCatholics clients.

Services:

Counseling Services

Facilitating informed decision on benefit of spiritual health therefore utilizing spiritual force to restore/promote health:

Counseling on

What is health?

Forces that will promote/restore health

Physical force

Mental force

Spiritual force

How the forces can promote/restore health

Importance of wholistic integrative approach

What health promotion/restoration services XXX Hospital is offering

Do you want to avail of the spiritual health services of XXX Hospital?

What does it entail, in terms of effort, time, and cost?

Facilitating informed decision what religion to acquire

Briefing on different types of religion by an unbiased facilitator

Differences and similarities

God

Obligations

Rituals

Facilitating informed decision on strategies to acquire spiritual forces to restore/promote health:

1. Generic method

2. Specific religion-based method

Generic Method:

Counseling on

Meaning of life

Meaning of illness

How to cope with illness with emphasis on spiritual force

Spiritual Prescription

Meditation – topic, schedule, how long, assisted or not

Listening to spiritual advisers/peers – topic, schedule, how long

Questioning spiritual advisers/peers – topic, schedule, how long

Visitation by spiritual advisers/peers – schedule, how long, activities

Writing/diary – what, how long, when

Reading – what (bible or nonbible materials), frequency, when

Others

Specific Religion-based Method:

Precepts /rituals of chosen religion

Examples of Catholic-based method:

Mass

Communion

Confession

Rosary

Bible reading

Pray over

Prayer healing sessions

Last sacrament

Others

Client Flow:

Clients (External and Internal)

Walk-in Referred

By MD/Nurses/Anybody

Inpatient Services Outpatient Services

(confined clients) (clients not confined)

Spiritual Health Services coordinated with medical and nursing health services

Spiritual Health Services - primarily promotion of spiritual well-being

- secondarily promotion of mental well-being

Medical Health Services - primarily promotion of physical well-being HEALTH

- secondarily promotion of mental well-being

Nursing Health Services - primarily promotion of physical well-being

- secondarily promotion of mental well-being

Quality System Procedures:

To be put up by staff.

Expectations from Clients on Spiritual Health Services:

I am a client seeking restoration of health services from XXX Hospital.

I am aware of the wholistic concept of health, which is basically a state of physical, mental and spiritual well-being in a person.

I will be extremely satisfied if XXX Hospital provides me an integrated medical, nursing, and spiritual services to restore and maintain my health.

From my experience, spiritual services in hospital are

- not strong

- biased to certain religion, if the hospital is owned by a religious group

- not integrated to the medical and nursing services

I will be extremely satisfied if I see and feel the presence of a strong, unbiased, and integrative spiritual health services in XXX Hospital.

Specifically, I expect the following:

There is an office to which I can approach for a spiritual health service just as there is such a nursing service office and a physician’s office.

Structure wise, the office should have

- proper ambience for spiritual wellness

- privacy

- adequate area where my relatives can be accommodated

Staff wise, they should be courteous, approachable, and competent in answering inquiry from clients and providing the specialty of spiritual health service.

There must be an effective and efficient system of providing spiritual health services in the hospital, both upon request from clients as well as offering them even when not requested.

There is a set policies and procedures in providing spiritual health services, not only contained in the file (print and/or electronic form), but whose presence can be felt by us, the clients.

The presence of a definite policies and procedures on spiritual health services must also be felt and supported by all staff of the hospital.

I will be disappointed if I find out even just one staff of XXX Hospital is not aware that there is such a thing as spiritual health services being offered and integrated in the medical and nursing care of its clients in XXX Hospital.

Other than the office, I expect there will be an ecumenical chapel and a prayer room.

Lastly, I expect the hospital to facilitate referral to spiritual health service specialists requested by clients.

Quality Objectives:

Near zero formal complaints or not more than 20% dissatisfaction in a survey on clients’ expectations:

Spiritual health integrated into medical and nursing services

Not biased toward a certain religion

Presence of an office where client can approach for spiritual health service

Office having ambience for spiritual wellness, privacy, and adequate area

Staff – courteous, approachable, and competent

Effective and efficient system of spiritual health services

Presence of policies and procedures known to all staff of medical center

Presence of at least a prayer room

Data Needed:

Income (fund raising)

Expenses

How many clients served

Programs and activities held

Clients’ feedback

How many complaints, if any

Participation in social responsibility program of the hospital