Pastoral Care and Education

In times of illness, trauma and loss, many people require more than physical care to enable them to cope and heal. 

That’s why the professional chaplains of Covenant HealthCare serve in the hospital 24 hours a day to provide emotional and spiritual support to patients, families and hospital staff. Their goal is to support and foster healing and wholeness with people from all faith traditions, as well as those who do not belong to a faith tradition.

These are some of the services chaplains offer:

• Assistance and support in identifying and communicating basic spiritual/emotional/human needs.
• Grief/Loss care and support
• Crisis Intervention
• Conflict resolution with the patient, family member(s) and staff
• Referral to resources in the hospital and community
• Help with ethical/moral decisions and dilemmas
• Wide range of religious services (reading of holy texts, prayer, sacraments, blessings and baptism, memorial services, etc.)

In addition, because Covenant HealthCare is a teaching hospital, the Pastoral Care Department offers professional learning opportunities for pastors, chaplains, seminary students or graduates, and commissioned lay people through the Clinical Pastoral Education Program.

For more information about Pastoral Care, please call 989.583.6042.

Helpful Resources

Understanding the Grief Process

Covenant Pastoral Care Prayer Book

Defensor del Paciente (Advanced Directive in Spanish)