Chaplain

The chaplain provides pastoral care true to the manner consistent with the Catholic Health Services mission to humbly join together to bring Christ’s healing mission and the mission of mercy of the Catholic church to our communities; offering spiritual support to patients, residents, individuals, their families and CHSLI entity/ministry staff.  Committed to respecting the dignity and faith tradition of each individual and families, Chaplains support and guide the spiritual climate of the entity/ministry. The foundation of the pastoral care ministry is the spirit of inclusiveness. When requested by the patient, resident, or individual and/or family member, the chaplains may facilitate communication between patients, residents, individuals, and their faith communities. 

DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

A chaplain ensures the delivery of a comprehensive program of spiritual care to patients, residents, individuals, their loved ones and staff consistent with the values of the CHSLI mission, and, in particular, as stated in the Ethical and Religious Directives, 5th Edition, Part 2, Directives 10 to 22. 

• Provide spiritual care for patients, residents, individuals, their loved ones and staff.
• Fulfill regulatory requirements for spiritual assessment and documentation and respond to requests for pastoral care. 
• Review patient care reports regularly with director and department.   
• Participate in interdisciplinary health care teams as assigned, providing insights regarding patients’ spiritual and religious needs to the care team. 
• Ensure that the spiritual aspect of the patient is part of the treatment plan. 
• Assist with organizing and providing opportunities for worship for Catholics (Mass, sacraments, prayer, rosary).
• Provide professional consultation to other caregivers, i.e. medical staff, volunteers and community as appropriate.   
• Work with director to make available, as appropriate, other faith-based practices as needed or requested. 
• Facilitate prayer services by community clergy of the patient’s denomination. 
• Conduct special event and emergency interfaith services and support when needed. 
• Provide spiritual support and consultation for emergency command center. 
• Share in the off-hours on-call coverage as assigned.
• Assist with coordinating Catholic religious holiday observances.
• Serve as mentor for CPE interns and residents as requested. 
• Understand and apply the Ethical and Religious Directives in relevant situations as per the moral and ethical teaching of the Catholic Church and the mission of CHSLI.
• Assist with aligning spiritual care goals with organizational goals.
• Assist with the ongoing of quality services improvement through effective communication and standardized team processes.
• Contribute to the wider spiritual care community through research, publication and teaching, as appropriate.
• Attend, and present when possible, at local, regional and national meetings and conferences related to the work. 
• Other duties as assigned.  

POSITION REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Be a member of good standing within one’s own faith community. 
• Have a well formed, healthy spirituality focused on service to others. 
• Demonstrate fluency with Catholic identity and religious practices through the CHSLI mission to bring Christ’s healing mission and the mission of mercy of the Catholic Church to our communities. 
• Ability to interface with and support individuals from diverse cultural and faith traditions. 
• Ability to work with interdisciplinary teams of health professionals.  
• Must be certified or certification eligible by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains; Association of Professional Chaplains; Neshema: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Within two years of hire.
• Minimum of one year experience in chaplaincy required. 
• Be a member of good standing with one’s own professional association.  
• Understand and apply the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Services and provide care in accordance with the CHSLI mission as required.

Education:

• Undergraduate degree from an accredited college, university or theological school.
• Graduate-level theological training from an accredited college, university or theological school.  
• Minimum of four units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) that is accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). 

Skills, Knowledge or Abilities:

• Multi-denominational cultural and religious knowledge and sensitivity.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to assess the spiritual needs and concerns of those served, grounded in theology and understanding of the behavioral sciences.
• Competence in Microsoft Office.
• Ability to learn and implement system software in reasonable time.