| Providing full time spiritual care in the nursing home is | | | | optional. As the chaplain, I participate in or lead staff |
| exciting. It's care located at the center of the circle of | | | | prayer sessions seven times a day with the different |
| life-where the generations' meet and life stories | | | | units and departments in our facility. We lift each other |
| intersect. It's where heroic journeys end and others | | | | up and share our joys and our hurts. Our interfaith |
| begin. It's where servant leadership meets the holistic | | | | department of spirituality and culture is founded on the |
| healing of body, mind and spirit. I see my role as a full | | | | healing well of unconditional love for diverse cultures |
| time chaplain in the nursing home as sharing the Divine | | | | and people of all faiths. |
| love and God consciousness that I experience, with | | | | Often we're the short term healing point between a |
| my fellow travelers. It's the opportunity to listen and | | | | hospital stay and home. Sometimes residents are well |
| learn about what really matters-the true nitty gritty of | | | | along the road to physical healing, but still have |
| life. In my experience, when a person feels that they | | | | emotional and spiritual issues that need attention. As a |
| have really been heard and understood, and that there | | | | chaplain I represent the community of faith. During our |
| are others that do care, the obstacles to hope are | | | | time together, I meet my care receiver where they are |
| removed and the pathways to healing are opened up. | | | | and assist them in growing and enlarging their own |
| Ultimately, we don't fully understand how the spiritual | | | | connections to their personal sources of spiritual |
| healing process works, but we know by our | | | | strength. That's what I call "personalized spirituality." As |
| observation and experience that it does, and we | | | | one resident, who has fully recovered and returned |
| attribute the results to God. | | | | back home to resume her independent life, announced |
| I've been learning that spiritual care in the nursing home | | | | at her care conference, "Your visits were the |
| is also about genuine teamwork-where we learn to | | | | beginning of my getting better." The restoration of her |
| share our hurts, our needs and our differences in a | | | | hope meant that she was able to physically heal more |
| way that turns them into strengths. We are a diverse | | | | rapidly and more wholeheartedly participate in her |
| community and our diversity makes us stronger. What | | | | rehabilitation. With longer-term residents, spiritual care is |
| can be more spiritual than being a true, real | | | | more about forming real relationships based upon |
| community? At any senior care facility, one of the | | | | mutual love and respect. Another key component to |
| pillars of the team building can be centered on prayer. | | | | care is creating avenues for connecting the inside |
| Prayer, like the spiritual care program, is multi-faith and | | | | community with the outside community. |