Pastoral Care

The role of the pastoral care volunteer at St.Vincent Mercy Hospital is to provide spiritual and emotional support to patients and their families, associates, volunteers and the medical staff.

The pastoral care volunteers (staff and volunteer community pastors) endeavor to witness in a ministry of presence, to accept and promote the individual's freedom with respect to religious beliefs and practices, to promote and encourage the holistic practice of health care (body, mind, and spirit), and to affirm the natural process of grief and assist in this process.

Hospital staff and pastoral care volunteers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for emergencies. The Chapel is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for reflection and prayer.  It is located across from the gift shop.

Patients are welcome to invite their priest, minister, or rabbi to visit at any time. With the permission of the patient or family, a patient’s spiritual leader will be notified of the patient’s admission to the hospital.

Many special services are offered to patients and families of St.Vincent Mercy Hospital, as well as to the community.

The Grief Recovery Program

This program is a series of meetings for those who seek to grow through the pain and sorrow of losing a loved one through death. It is offered twice a year, in the spring and in the fall, to older teens and adults. For more information, please call Sr. Rosie Coughlin at 765-552-4622.