Comments on: Weird Clergy in Hospice

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:54:12 +0000

Jeanne, thank you for clarifying. I think I read into the question too much and took it as Clara saying that the hospice should have had the catholic priest there from the get go, whether or not her sister had indicated she was a practicing catholic. They are required to facilitate visits and meet Everyones spiritual needs, as you said. They just needs to know what the person wants.

By: Jeanne Frye, RN, CHPN

Jeanne Frye, RN, CHPN — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:06:19 +0000

First, always remember, spiritual pain can be just as uncomfortable as physical pain….Second, try telling a Medicare surveyor you can not provide spiritual assistance due to lack of staff. It doesn’t go over very well (their response is “then don’t admit them”). Ask an agency if they can meet the needs of yourself or your loved one. For example, is there clergy available on call or after hours?? Just FYI:
A hospice is mandated to do the following:
1. Provide counseling to meet the spiritual needs in a manner that is accepted by the patient & family & is consistent with their respective beliefs
2.Facilitate visits by individuals that can meet the patient’s spiritual needs.
Meaning: an agency should be actively building an internal registry of varying affiliations in order to meet the needs of their service area. If you are looking for an agency this should be a question you may want to ask. Thanks for the opportunity to share

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:04:43 +0000

Hospices simply cannot have a person of every religous institiution on staff. It is not possible. And having one or a few religions represented but not others can be interpreted by some as discriminaton. The hospice chaplin should however, be able to get you in touch with someone who does meet your spiritual needs if the chaplin himself/herself does not.

By: Angela

Angela — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:18:30 +0000

Common on Judy, priests aren’t the only option. What about a nun? I’m not a Catholic but I would imagine that a sister might be more comforting to Carla’s sister. In my experience the nuns provide the kind of tender emotional support that is special for a woman.