As contemplative spiritual practices find an increasing presence within American society, there is both an opportunity and a need to integrate practitioners into traditional medical settings to serve as spiritual caregivers and, more generally, to transform and integrate contemplative compassionate care into traditional medical settings.Working in tandem with each of our partner institutions, we create a Contemplative Care Program that meets these goals and needs.
Current Partners:
Beth Israel Medical Center
We are the first Buddhist organization to be contracted to provide chaplaincy within a mainstream hospital. We provide a Contemplative Care Program in which student chaplains visit with patients and staff under the supervision of our Senior Chaplain Supervisors.We also lead weekly group meditation for staff, patients and families as well as regularly speaking to the Beth Israel community an neighbors on the health benefits of meditation and on contemplative approaches to care. The head of Pastoral Care at Beth Israel has said that we provide the hospital with a “wonderful presence of intentional care.”
Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester
Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester is a private, not for profit agency that provides comprehensive health care services to people with an advanced illness who live in Westchester County. Our programs and services are available to people of all ages with any diagnosis.
Our mission statement is very clear: Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester will provide extraordinary and dignified comfort, care and compassion to every individual and family facing a serious or life-threatening illness.
Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester is a life enhancing, health care organization whose programs and care are intended to promote our patients’ quality of life by addressing the medical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients and their families. Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester understands that each patient and family are unique, and an individualized plan of care will be developed based upon the needs of the patient and family.
Joseph’s House, Washington, DC.
Begun in 1990 in response to the growing AIDS crisis in Washington, D.C., Joseph’s House offers a welcoming community and comprehensive nursing services for formerly homeless men and women at the end of life. The medical staff and trained caregivers work to create a home where the values of unreserved love and unconditional forgiveness are practiced. Joseph’s House was founded on the concept of intentional community. This model espouses “community” as a source of profound human healing through the building of relationships. Joseph’s House surrounds each resident with the presence of specially trained staff and volunteers, who are continually trained in the practice of unconditional love and forgiveness, mercy and justice. We seek to practice compassionate care so that the act of service itself becomes a source of healing, both for the served and the server. The community is nourished by regular periods of contemplative prayer and meditation.
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
NewYork-Presbyterian, one of the nations leading hospitals as a training center for our chaplains. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) is 2,369-bed academic health care network providing services at five campuses. It is the largest hospital in New York and one of the most comprehensive health care institutions in the world. In July 2010 U.S. News and World Report designated NYPH as 6th on its national “Honor Roll” of hospitals for the fifth straight year. The five NYPH campuses are Columbia University Medical Center, Weill Cornell Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York, Westchester Division and the Allen Hospital. We collaborate with their with their incredible Pastoral Care Department led by The Rev. Dr. Beth Faulk Glover by providing Contemplative Chaplains to three of their sites.
Visiting Nurse Service of New York Hospice
We provide our student chaplains for the patients and staff in its hospice residence, nursing homes and to its home care patients and families. The nurse manager of their hospice residence has said that our chaplains “transform the whole residence. When they are here, we all feel held.”
