Spiritual care means helping patients with their spiritual and emotional needs. It can include questions about meaning, hope, or feeling connected to something. Spirituality is not the same as religion. Religion is about organized faith, but spirituality can be different for each person. Patients who are very sick often think about big spiritual questions. If these questions are not talked about, it can make them feel bad and affect their health.
Marie Curie, a group that helps seriously ill patients, says spiritual support helps patients find peace even when they are very sick. This is very important in palliative care, where patients may worry about losing their independence or life. Good spiritual care can ease suffering and help patients have a better quality of life.
Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers all have a part in giving spiritual care. They can have honest talks with patients to find out what they need. Tools like HOPE (Hope, Organized religion, Personal spirituality, Effects on care) and FICA (Faith, Importance, Community, Address in care) help care teams understand patients’ beliefs and include them in treatment plans.
Hospitals in the U.S. now see the connection between spiritual care and better patient experiences. At MetroHealth System, spiritual care is part of the patient-focused approach. Reverend Debra R. Dove leads this work. She has over 30 years of experience helping patients and families from many backgrounds.
At MetroHealth, spiritual care is not just for patients but also for their families and caregivers. Families often feel stress when caring for loved ones, and spiritual care helps them handle these feelings. This support helps patients by creating a caring environment around them.
Hospitals also work hard to include patient feedback. Programs like the Patient and Family Advisor Program allow patients and families to help improve care. This program is run by Jennifer Lastic and helps make sure patients’ ideas shape both medical and spiritual services.
Research shows that not meeting spiritual needs can cause strong emotional problems like anxiety, depression, and even refusal of care. Meeting these needs reduces suffering and helps patients feel better overall. This leads to higher patient satisfaction, better treatment follow-through, and fewer complaints.
Spiritual care should be a regular part of medical treatment, not something extra or optional. It is especially important in cancer care, chronic illness, and end-of-life care. Including spiritual care helps patients stay emotionally stable and recover better.
For example, in kidney disease programs, patients get education that covers spiritual well-being too. Stephanie Seng-Patton from MetroHealth explains that this helps patients handle fear and find hope, which is important during treatment.
Talking about spiritual needs takes training. Healthcare workers must learn to use spiritual assessments and know when to refer patients to chaplains or spiritual care teams. This makes their care more complete.
Volunteers help make patient experiences better by offering companionship and emotional support. Becky Moldaver from MetroHealth runs programs that put volunteers in places to help patients, families, and visitors.
When clinical staff are busy, volunteers provide extra emotional support. They create a friendly space that helps patients who feel lonely or worried. Some volunteers work with spiritual care teams to comfort patients through talks or activities. This helps patients stay connected to their community.
MetroHealth’s volunteer programs have lasted more than 35 years. These long-term efforts show how non-medical support can improve patient satisfaction and wellness. Volunteers add to professional spiritual care and show the hospital’s commitment to caring for the whole patient.
New technology can make spiritual support better in hospitals. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and workflow automation can help with communication and care delivery.
Simbo AI offers phone automation systems that help hospitals answer patient calls faster. This lets staff spend more time with patients, including on spiritual care and counseling.
MetroHealth uses a feedback platform called Humm. It collects patient opinions quickly so staff can spot problems and fix them fast, including in spiritual care.
AI can also schedule spiritual care visits, manage volunteer work, and follow up with patients after they leave the hospital. Automating these tasks lets hospitals focus more on personal care.
Information technology managers can connect AI tools to electronic health records (EHR). This helps keep track of spiritual needs along with medical data. It makes team communication better and supports complete patient care.
Hospital leaders and practice owners in the U.S. should consider spiritual care a key part of quality healthcare. Healing includes physical treatment and emotional and spiritual support.
Programs like MetroHealth’s Patient and Family Advisor and quick feedback tools give examples of how to include patients’ voices in care improvements. When volunteer programs work with spiritual care teams, patients and families get more support for overall wellness.
Spiritual care can be measured by patient feedback and other quality checks. Addressing spiritual distress helps improve mental health, lowers the chance that patients refuse treatment, and helps them handle fear and pain. These benefits lead to better patient loyalty and stronger reputations for healthcare providers.
Hospital and clinic leaders are advised to make spiritual care a priority. This includes training staff, hiring spiritual care professionals, and using technology like AI phone systems. These steps help create well-rounded patient care.
When spiritual care and technology work together, healthcare providers can offer support that goes beyond physical healing.
This clear view of spiritual care shows commitment to meeting all patient needs and improving their care experience in U.S. healthcare settings.
The Director of Experience Excellence, Jennifer Lastic, plans and implements measures to meet patient experience goals, identifies improvement opportunities, and promotes best practices while providing education and coaching.
Stephanie Seng-Patton, as a Program Improvement Advisor, collaborates with departments to support the implementation of patient experience initiatives, reviews patient feedback, and represents the Office of Patient Experience at events.
Michael Hansen, the Manager of Patient Relations, acts as a bridge between patients and caregivers, advocates for patients, and ensures that patients’ and families’ voices are heard and documented.
Becky Moldaver oversees volunteer programs that contribute to enhancing the patient experience by placing volunteers in roles that support patients, families, and visitors throughout MetroHealth.
Reverend Debra R. Dove, with over 30 years of experience, holds a Master of Divinity and is trained in pastoral counseling, specializing in providing spiritual and emotional support to diverse patients.
The Patient and Family Advisor Program aims to integrate patient and family feedback into organizational decisions, enhancing the overall quality of healthcare provided.
The Humm real-time feedback platform allows MetroHealth to gather immediate patient insights, facilitating ongoing improvements in services and patient care.
Stephanie Seng-Patton holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Performance Psychology, equipping her with skills to understand team dynamics and enhance performance.
By addressing concerns and compliments from patients, the Office of Patient Experience informs leadership and staff, driving improvements in care quality and organizational responsiveness.
The Patient Experience Team promotes values of quality, integrity, and fairness, ensuring that patient feedback is prioritized and actively addressed in care delivery.
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