Spiritual Care Week – On Call Chaplain and Priest Availability

and families, our staff working in partnership with our community religious leaders and volunteers of all faiths. We spoke with Peter, our Spiritual Care Coordinator about the spiritual care he provides, as well as the coordination of community faith leaders to provide 24/7 on call service to patients and their families.

 “It’s important to recognize that when a person gets sick, their world can be shaken and they can experience a lot of unpleasant feelings triggered by illness: fear, loneliness, loss of hope and meaning. During difficult times like these, people often turn to spiritual resources and as they do, I’m available to support them.”

Peter Lopinski is the Spiritual Care Coordinator at Joseph Brant Hospital (JBH). In his role he provides spiritual support to patients and their families, as well as the coordination of community faith leaders to provide 24/7 on call service to patients at JBH.

“Local faith communities are very important in providing spiritual support at Joseph Brant Hospital.  We have an active roster of community faith leaders that provide 24/7 On Call Chaplain and Priest availability.”

The On Call service supports pastoral visitation from community faith groups visiting their own hospitalized members. Patients may contact Peter to arrange for a pastoral visit with their faith leader and vice-versa – a faith leader may ask Peter to visit someone in their congregation.

“Having a community of faith leaders and organizations that are passionate in joining us at JBH to support people spiritually during their hospitalization has been very gratifying for me. I believe that good patient and family care involves resources for spiritual support, and that spiritual care is important to the overall patient experience and satisfaction.”

The Sacred Space is located on Level 1 of the South tower. This space is a multi-faith retreat room open to all for quiet prayer and reflection, 24 hours a day.

“Sometimes our day is stressful and we might need a quiet place to catch our breath, say a prayer, or re-center ourselves. The Sacred Space is available to people of all spiritual backgrounds to allow for this space.”

Learn more about our Spiritual Care Services here: https://www.josephbranthospital.ca/en/patients-and-visitors/spiritual-care.asp