A trip to the ER or admission to the hospital can bring anxiety and fear — even when you’re confident you’re receiving the best possible care. Patients may face unfamiliar procedures, surgery, bad news, difficult decisions and worries about family members. Many begin thinking about their beliefs and values in ways they haven’t considered for a long time, or possibly ever.
It's reassuring for patients to know they’re being cared for by knowledgeable, skillful, careful physicians and nurses. It can be equally reassuring — and clinically beneficial — for patients to talk through their worries and fears with a skilled spiritual care provider and to feel supported emotionally. Hope is healing.
Adventist Health provides spiritual care in clinical settings with the highest standards of training and practice. Here are a few stats from 2022 about spiritual care at Adventist Health:
- 48 full-time spiritual care providers
- 57 associate chaplains
- Annual week-long Mission Week events at each hospital
- 2 new mission leadership residents (started in 2023)
- 2 mission leadership residents in six-year clinical chaplain residency
- 22 students enrolled in clinical pastoral education training
- Top decile Press Ganey patient satisfaction scores for spiritual care
- 6 visits to Adventist colleges and universities to build a pipeline of new mission leaders
- 2 undergraduate students starting in the mission leadership internship program
- 80% of full-time chaplains have CPE board certification (on track for 100% by 2025)
- 4 accredited CPE centers: Kern County, Mendocino County, Portland and Los Angeles
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