Chaplaincy Care Program

Hospital Based Volunteer Chaplaincy Program

September 5, 2018, Madera California: With support and leadership from the Madera Ministerial Association and community faith leaders, Madera Community Hospital announces the formation of a Volunteer Chaplaincy Care Program. Once implemented, hospitalized patients and their families will have access to 24-hour, on-call spiritual support.

“Effective spiritual care is a standard of practice contributing to the wellbeing of both the patient and their family,” said Karen Paolinelli, Chief Executive Officer, Madera Community Hospital. “The Volunteer Chaplaincy program expands our clinical team’s resources and aligns with providing patient centered care,” Paolinelli added.

Madera Community Hospital has always welcomed religious leaders visiting hospital bound parishioners. “The Volunteer Chaplaincy Care Program will provide a network of spiritual leaders, from all faiths, to provide comfort to patients, families and to the physicians and staff during times of crisis,” said Joyce Lane, Vice President, Madera Ministerial Association. “We envision the volunteer chaplains becoming reliable members of the hospital’s healthcare team,” added Lane.

Volunteer chaplains practice four main areas of service to patients, family, staff and medical providers:

• Sustain: Providing support, comfort, and understanding for an individual or group going through a time of crisis;
• Guide: Helping another person (s), either by direction, clarification or confrontation, to find solutions to problems or life’s questions;
• Heal: Aiding individuals in finding wellness or wholeness from injury or disease (in a spiritual and emotional sense); and
• Reconcile: Helping a person to restore a relation that has been broken with a person, a group, the Divine (However that person chooses to describe the Holy), and /or their sense of what brings them meaning and purpose in life.

Credentialed spiritual leaders, interested in volunteering, can obtain the application for service at www.MaderaHospital.org/Volunteer. Applications will be reviewed and determined eligible to attend the Volunteer Chaplaincy Care Training scheduled for Saturday, September 22, 2018. Successful completion of the training and required hospital clearance are mandatory prior to service. For more information contact, Laura Maciel, Volunteer Liaison, (559) 675-2881 or email Wecare@MaderaHospital.org.