Pastoral Care
Patients and their loved ones have different emotional and spiritual responses when hospital care is required. For many people, religious faith or practice help them cope with health problems and related issues. A Chaplain can offer compassionate support by providing prayer and pastoral conversations, discussing problems and sharing difficult decisions.
The Pastoral Care department is committed to providing spiritual care and emotional support to patients, family members, friends, hospital employees and volunteers. We accept, affirm and respect all faith traditions and spiritual practices based on common fundamental human rights of life, freedom, justice, and mutual regard. Our chaplains serve as members of the healthcare team working closely with nurses, physicians, social workers and others for you and your family.
Chaplains are available during times of patient or family spiritual distress, diagnosis, making care decisions, celebration and recovery, goals of care change, and during times of dying.
You may reach a Chaplain by calling 678-604-1054 between 8am and 4pm. At all other times you may reach a Chaplain by dialing “0” from a hospital phone and asking the operator to contact the on-call Chaplain. Or you may ask your nurse to contact a Chaplain for you.
Henry Medical Center’s Chapel is open at all times for everyone. It is located on the first floor of the South Tower. Cards are located on the front table of the chapel to record a concern, prayer request, or celebration so that others my share your burdens or joys.
Prayers offered for healing and hope:
- Christian Prayer for Healing
- Jewish Prayer on Behalf of the Sick
- Muslim Prayer of Consolidation and Patience
- Hindu Prayer for the Healing of Body, Mind and Spirit
Advance Directives
The best way for you to be in control of your medical treatment is to record your preferences in advance. You can make legally valid decisions about future medical treatment through an Advance Directive. In completing an Advance Directive, you can do two things: legally appoint someone as your Personal Agent for Health Care to make healthcare decision for you when you cannot speak for yourself and/or formally state your wishes for the medical treatments you do or do not want to receive.
The Advance Directive combines the Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. You may request an Advance Directive document during admission, from your nurse, or from Pastoral Care at 678-604-1054 or Quality Management at 678-604-1056.
If you have made your wishes known, it is our policy to honor a patient’s Advance Directive or any other health care directive that meets the requirements of Georgia law.
Volunteer Chaplaincy Program
The Volunteer Chaplaincy program plays a vital role in carrying out the Pastoral Care mission. The Pastoral Care department is not sectarian but rather Chaplains are equipped to help persons use their faith, beliefs and values to promote health, wholeness and healing.
To become a Volunteer Chaplain you must submit an application, interview with the manager of the Pastoral Care department, and complete the hospital’s orientation program. To receive an application, click on the link below or call the Pastoral Care office at 678-604-1054.
Volunteer Chaplain Application
Education for Professional Ministry Program
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs allow ministers, seminarians, and other religiously-oriented persons to develop counseling and pastoral care-giving skills, familiarity within a particular pastoral setting and self-awareness as a pastoral caregiver.
Henry Medical Center is accredited by the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy, Inc. CPSP publishes standards which detail the requirements for faculty, curriculum, educational environment and for admission into CPE programs.
A typical CPE program follows the standards set by its accrediting organization, normally requiring a minimum of 400 hours of supervised learning per unit of training. Henry Medical Center offers extended time unit which adheres to this requirement. Institutions typically require two to four units of CPE for eligibility for consideration for Staff Chaplain or equivalent professional pastoral care positions, and may, at their discretion, require more.
Each CPE student will be assigned to several areas of pastoral responsibility for clinical pastoral work.
- Case Seminars (80 hours per unit)
The purpose of this series of meeting is to allow for reviewing and critiquing case reports of actual pastoral visits. - Interpersonal Relations (30 hours per unit)
This peer group learning experience has a dual focus. First it provides opportunities for students to explore various personal and professional issues that may arise during their ministry.
Second it allows an experiential study of group formation and development, utilizing the group experience itself as an educational tool. - Didactic Presentations (30 hours per unit)
Lectures and presentations are provided for the group’s learning. The CPE supervisor and inter-disciplinary professionals present information on pastoral, ethical and health care concerns. - Individual Supervision (10hours per unit) Students meet one-on-one with the supervisor to review pastoral work, reflect on personal and professional growth and evaluate progress toward individual learning goals which are established at the beginning of each unit.
Tuition is paid to Henry Medical Center. Students are also responsible for any textbooks used.
Upon completion of each 400 hours of supervised learning, students receive certification of the successful completion of that unit.
To apply for the Clinical Pastoral Education program, please click on the link below.