Pastoral Care
Pastoral care is available to all patients and their families, regardless of religious affiliation or spiritual practice. Chaplains and volunteer pastoral visitors represent a variety of faith traditions and are trained to respect and support the spirituality of each patient and family member. The director of pastoral care is board certified in clinical chaplaincy, and palliative and hospice pastoral care, and ensures that supportive pastoral services are offered with compassion and professionalism.
Patients may look to RWJ Hamilton’s pastoral care team members as skilled companions who can help:
- Ensure religious needs are met
- Provide emotional support in times of crisis
- Encourage life reflection and story telling
- Explore spiritual concerns
- Discover sources of hope
- Recover a sense of worth and dignity
- Mediate religious or ethical differences
- Reconnect patients with valued friends and family
- Listen reverently
- Address strong feelings including anger, fear, sorrow, or remorse
- Make sense out of life's changes
- Strengthen life with prayer and meditation
- Process grief and loss
- Provide a safe space for doubt
- Intervene in crisis situations
- Consult on ethical dilemmas
- Reconcile feelings of guilt and regret
- Maintain contact with a faith community or clergy
For our Catholic patients, the sacrament of the anointing of the sick is administered by a priest as requested. Communion is provided by extraordinary ministers representing various local parishes, usually on a daily basis. Referrals for this sacramental care can be made through your nurse.
Multi-Faith Chapel
Our Multi-Faith Chapel is located on the first floor of the Outpatient Services Building and is available for use by the hospital community. It is a place for prayer, meditation, and occasional religious services. Devotional materials, such as icons, prayer rugs, crosses, rosary beads and sacred scriptures are available for use in the chapel.
Regular interfaith prayer services are held in the chapel weekdays at 12:30 p.m. An Islamic prayer service is held in the chapel each Friday at 1:30 p.m. Other holy day services are scheduled year-round.
To learn about RWJ Hamilton's Clinical Pastoral Education & Training program, click here.
Contact Us If you need pastoral assistance, please don't hesitate to ask a nurse or call the pastoral care office at 609-631-6980.
