Spiritual Care has always been an element in the care of patients at Glendive Medical Center. To have a Spiritual Care Department within the facility was a longtime dream of the leadership team. In 2004, the position of Hospital Chaplain created.

Upon admittance as a patient to the hospital, extended care, assisted living, or the veterans’ home, spiritual needs are considered of high importance in the support and healing of each individual. Family or individuals will be asked their religious or denominational preference for spiritual support. If there is no affiliation, those involved have the option of requesting a visit by the Chaplain.

If these questions have been inadvertently omitted in the admitting process the family and individuals are encouraged to ask for Spiritual Care. However, because of privacy regulations, residents, patients and families must remember to give permission to allow clergy to visit. In order to protect the privacy of all concerned, hospital staff members are not allowed to give out names to anyone.

The Purpose of Spiritual Care

Due to the nature of rural living, it is important the entire community feel a part of the ministry to those who are residents or patients. The sense of community means that people in distress are neighbors, family, and friends; everyone is part of the support and healing system. Local ministers provide spiritual care for their members as well as others in the community who may not be officially a part of their congregations, but still feel the ties engendered through community. The Spiritual Care Department attempts to facilitate those connections in whatever way possible within the parameters of individual, federal, and state privacy legal regulations.