Loyola Univ. Health Sys. - Programs & Services - Pastoral Care Services (Spiritual Care)

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Pastoral Care Services (Spiritual Care)

“Loyola promises patients that we go beyond the illness to treat the whole person.
We also treat the human spirit.®”

Loyola University Health System (Loyola) is proud of its heritage as a Catholic medical center, operating with the Jesuit tradition and mission. Since opening in 1969, Loyola has valued pastoral care as an essential element of our outreach to patients, families and staff. As members of the health care team, pastoral care chaplains share the commitment to “also treat the human spirit.®” During a time of personal or family illness, chaplains are here to assist you in drawing upon your personal spiritual resources and to explore with you your spiritual concerns. Here at Loyola, out of the best of our Catholic tradition, we are a “home for all faiths.”

Pastoral care chaplains are specially trained in a particular health-care service area to help both patients and families deal with specific types of illness. In the hospital, chaplains are available to you and your family 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We also provide chaplain services to Loyola’s outpatient centers and primary care clinics.

Upon your request, we stand ready to contact your church, parish, synagogue, mosque, temple, or house of worship. We honor your religious beliefs and encourage you to draw upon the spiritual resources of your faith tradition for healing and wholeness. We invite you to learn more about Loyola’s Catholic identity and Jesuit mission.

In the hospital, call us -

When you need to talk...
When you feel lonely...
When you are scared or worried...
When you want someone to pray with...
When you fear you are losing your faith...
When you feel grateful or blessed...
When you desire the sacraments...
When you think about giving up...
When you are sad or angry...
When you feel confused or guilty...

To Call a Chaplain
Whether you are an inpatient or are receiving medical care at one of our outpatient facilities at the medical center, ask your nurse or physician to call the pastoral care office or to page a chaplain to help meet your needs.

Chapel and Worship Services
Loyola's Paul V. Galvin Memorial Chapel provides a welcoming place for reflection and spiritual renewal 24 hours a day for patients, families and staff. This “home for all faiths” is located on the lower level of the hospital at the Maywood campus. May this place offer you peace and comfort.

Worship services are televised in-house on channel 4, along with other spiritual programming. Roman Catholic Mass is celebrated at noon Sunday through Friday and on holy days, but not on Saturdays. Each day, volunteer Catholic Eucharistic ministers offer communion to patients and families upon request. Protestant communion also is available upon request. On Friday afternoons, Muslim hospital staff gathers for Jummah prayer.

Who are the Chaplains?
Loyola’s pastoral care chaplains have graduate academic credentials, advanced clinical training and professional affiliation with the National Association of Catholic Chaplains or the Association of Professional Chaplains. Students in our Clinical Pastoral Education Program receive supervision and clinical experience as they prepare for full-time pastoral ministry.

At Loyola, chaplains address what we describe as “the needs beneath the medical needs.” Whether patients or families are in the midst of a sudden crisis or an ongoing chronic struggle, our chaplains are available for:

Spiritual needs:
• searching for meaning and hope
• dealing with suffering, loss, grief, change or discouragement
• celebrating relief, healing, gratitude
• ethical decisions regarding continuing or discontinuing treatments

Religious concerns:
• prayer, scripture, faith
• reconciliation, forgiveness
• grace-filled moments
• other ways God is present (or not) in life

Specific sacramental or denominational needs:
• communion, reconciliation, baptism, blessing
• Anointing of the Sick
• a bible or other spiritual resource
• community or church concerns
• contacting church, parish, synagogue, mosque, or house of worship

Beyond the Hospital
Loyola offers a variety of follow-up services and community outreach activities. Chaplains are involved in grief support groups, parish training projects and hospital memorial services.

Locations and Contacts
For pastoral care services, please call (888) LUHS-888 and ask for extension 6-9056.

www.luhs.org - Maywood, IL