Spiritual Care
Spiritual Care
Support for you and your loved ones
We understand a new health-related diagnosis or visit to the hospital may bring feelings of anxiety or fear. At Adventist Health, our goal is to provide the spiritual and emotional support you and your loved ones need as you journey through the healing process.
Spiritual and emotional support for every need
It can be reassuring and clinically beneficial for patients to talk through their worries and fears with a skilled spiritual and emotional care provider. We recognize every patient has a unique spiritual or religious experience — or perhaps no connection to spirituality or religion — and our care teams are available to support the emotional health and well-being of every person in our care.
Whether you are making end-of-life decisions, grieving the loss of a loved one, or trying to cope with other mental or emotional stress, Adventist Health offers a range of resources and services to help you get through your most difficult times. Rooted in our faith and values as followers of Jesus, the team at Adventist Health believes in the power of whole-person healthcare. We strive to help our patients of all faiths and religious backgrounds find peace during their time with us.
Spiritual and emotional care services
Spiritual and emotional care is available 24 hours a day. Staff chaplains provide pastoral care in partnership with a team of trained volunteers from a variety of religious traditions. Our care teams offer encouragement and comfort to support your emotional health and well-being, including when you:
- Need someone to listen to your concerns.
- Want to make sure your family is being supported.
- Want someone to pray with you.
- Have questions about the role of spirituality in healing.
- Are grieving the loss of a loved one.
- Are making decisions following a life-altering event.
- Are making decisions about end-of-life care.
We are also happy to contact your church or faith leader to have them speak with you regarding any concerns you may have during your stay in our hospital.
Chapels
Each of our hospitals offers a chapel for reflection and silent prayer and meditation for those times when you or your family members need quiet space.
Support with grieving
Grief is experienced and expressed in many ways. Healthy grief honors and cherishes the memory of loved ones while allowing those who are grieving to begin the journey forward. At Adventist Health, our spiritual and emotional care teams offer support and resources that can help in your grief journey, including:
- Help understanding and navigating what you may experience physically, emotionally, spiritually and socially when grieving.
- Tips for coping and knowing how to help yourself through grief.
- Tips for helping children cope with grief.
- Questions to consider when planning a memorial service or funeral and options for funeral and mortuary organizations.
- How to obtain a death certificate and why you will need this document.
- In-person and online grief support groups.
- Suggestions for books and other resources about grief.
While our organizational heritage is based in a particular faith tradition — we believe a personal connection to our loving God will make a positive difference during the grief journey — our support is for people of all faith traditions, as well as those who have no affiliation with a particular religion.
Support for end-of-life decisions
Making end-of-life decisions for yourself or a loved one can be daunting, but help is available. At Adventist Health, we offer tools and services to help you make sense of the process and clarify your options. Our chaplains are happy to help you understand and fill out healthcare directives and various care plans. We believe spiritual care and faith can help you approach future care decisions with confidence and a clear mind.
Spirituality for life balance
Finding balance in life can make or break us. For many, spirituality becomes a guide in managing what we hold dear through the tough times. At Adventist Health, our spiritual care services can help you achieve a positive life balance and perspective during your time at our hospitals.
Spirituality for mental health
Sometimes life can feel out of control. When our thoughts, emotions and beliefs are not in tune, it becomes all the more complicated. At Adventist Health, we provide spiritual and emotional care to help our patients achieve mental wellness during their stay with us. Having seen patients struggling with anxiety, depression and mental illness, our spiritual and emotional care teams understand these challenges and offer compassionate guidance to help you manage.
