Programs & Services

Spiritual Care Services is committed to serving all patients, their families, staff and volunteers at St. Mary's General Hospital, regardless of faith or creed.

There is a Chapel and Multi-faith Prayer Room on the 3rd Floor of the hospital which is available for all patients, visitors and staff to use.

To reach Spiritual Care, call switchboard ("0" when in hospital or 519-744-3311 outside) for assitance, or directly 519-749-6578 extension 1175.

What is Spiritual Care?

Spiritual & Religious Caregivers (Professional Chaplains or Volunteers) assist with coping strategies and provide support to those in distress.

Our diverse team can provide:

• counselling
• caring presence
• rituals
• advocacy

SMGH Spiritual Care Credo

Created in the image and likeness of God, each person has dignity and worth deserving respect and care.

Caring relationships heal and promote personal wholeness in mind, body and spirit. Pastoral Care is one expression of concern rooted in God’s love for all creation.

Though sickness and suffering are part of the human condition, fullness of life is the human destiny. Even death cannot overcome life for those who believe. The Spiritual Care Services staff of St. Mary’s General Hospital journey with those in need of healing through compassion.  We act on behalf of those patients and their families who feel overburdened and are paralyzed by distress. We rejoice with those who discover new meaning and dare to live more deeply in the midst of loss and change.

In caring, we hope to become co-creators with God, and realize the power of Jesus who comes to bring the fullness of life to all.

Activities

Interdenominational Worship

• Each Wednesday at 1100 for patients and their families. Pastors volunteer for a 20-minute period of worship.

Celebration of Eucharist (Mass) 

•  Every Thursday of the month in Resurrection Chapel                

Memorial Service

• For next-of-kin patients who have died during a three month period of time. Memorial services are held in March, June, September and December on Tuesday evenings.

Communion

• Eucharistic Ministers attend and distribute communion to Roman Catholic patients Tuesday to Friday on designate units. Each Sunday a team of Eucharistic Ministers distribute communion to all the units.

SMGH Spiritual Care Staff

"Professional chaplains bring time tested spiritual resources that help patients focus on transcendent meaning, purpose and value." (Professional Chaplaincy, Its role and importance in healthcare, ed. Larry Vandecreek and Laurel Burton, 2001, p. 4)

Spiritual Care Services continues to provide spiritual and religious care to patients and families on a 24/365 basis. The department remains centralized with full-time/part-time staff and volunteers.

During regular hours, Monday to Friday, 0830 – 1630, full-time staff is assigned to areas within the various programs. The allocation of Pastoral Care staff is as follows:

Supervised Pastoral Education

MISSION
Since 1924, in the tradition of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Hamilton, St. Mary's General Hospital has been serving the community providing acute medical and surgical care. In the 21st century, as we continue our mission of compassionate health care we have expanded our scope of service, specializing as a full service Regional Cardiac Centre in South Western Ontario.

ST. JOSEPH'S HEALTH SYSTEM
As part of the St. Joseph's Health System, Supervised Pastoral Education at St. Mary's is offered in collaboration with other member organizations in Guelph, Hamilton, Brantford and Dundas. Beyond a diversity of supervisory staff, this system-wide approach affords our students placement sites ranging from acute to long-term, complex care, palliative to psychiatric, with many specialized centres of clinical practice and research.

PURPOSE OF SPE
In the context of an interdisciplinary team, the student in the Supervised Pastoral Education program at St. Mary's General Hospital will develop the self awareness and clinical skills necessary to be certified as a spiritual caregiver in an institutional setting. The Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education (CAPPE) approved program under the supervision of certified teaching staff will prepare you for chaplaincy at the Basic, Advanced and Supervisory levels according to the Standards of Education in CAPPE (6 students per teaching supervisor is the limit allowed by CAPPE Standard). For more information about CAPPE and its programs visit www.cappe.org.

The SPE program utilizes principles of adult experiential learning encouraging the participant to take ownership in learning by setting specific measurable learning goals. These goals are written at the outset and are re-assessed and revised throughout the course of the training unit.

METHODOLOGY
Though the primary clinical setting is St. Mary's General Hospital, off site placements are possible, e.g. other health care institutions, prisons, community social agencies or faith communities. As students reflect on their unique experience of providing spiritual and religious care they will engage peers and the teaching staff in recognizing the impact of their own attitudes, values and assumptions on their personhood and the care giving process. They will explore theoretical frameworks that inform and shape their practice. Using the praxis-reflection-praxis methodology with a focus on their individual learning goals they will determine, at the end of the unit, their own progress and areas for further learning. While continuous feedback by their peers and staff will enhance and ground their experience, students and the teaching supervisor will write final evaluations as a permanent record of their personal journeys.

CURRICULUM
According to CAPPE standards, the tools used to facilitate learning will include: Weekly Reflection Reports, Verbatim Reports and Seminars, Critical Incident Reports, Interpersonal Relation Sessions (IPR), Didactic Sessions, Pastoral Care Seminars, Individual Supervision, and Worship and Theological Reflection Sessions. Some didactic sessions will be offered in partnership with Waterloo Lutheran Seminary courses and Kitchener Interfaith Pastoral Counselling Centre. Approximately half of the program is spent in a clinical setting, while the balance of the program is in group sessions and supervision. Various clinical placement contexts are possible, including acute care hospital, correction institution, long-term care facility, and community placement, within the Waterloo Wellington Counties.

TIME COMMITMENT
The summer SPE unit at St. Mary's General Hospital will involve a commitment to a forty-hour week for eleven weeks, and up to thirteen, if required, for completion of ministry hours with on-going supervision. The fall extended unit is a 2-day, thirty-week program from September to April. There are seminar preparation and assignments to be completed during evening and weekend hours. If placed in a hospital setting, participation in off hours ‘on call’ crisis chaplaincy intervention is essential.

Download Application

(Parking is complimentary at St. Mary's General Hospital. After the third week of the intensive unit or 6 weeks of the extended unit, no refunds can be made. To avoid missing deadlines please apply early. Without the processing fee, applications will not be processed. Acceptance into the program is based on the written material submitted with the application form and a personal interview.)

For further information or applications forms, please contact:

Michael Chow, M.Div., M.A., Specialist & Teaching Supervisor (CAPPE)

Educator and Director, Pastoral Care Services
St. Mary's General Hospital
911 Queen’s Boulevard
Kitchener, ON N2M 1B2
Phone:  519-749-6790
Email:  mchow@smgh.ca