Spiritual Care

BayCare is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate spiritual care that addresses the religious and spiritual needs of all we serve. Our teams provide spiritual care to patients, family members and team members.

Born out of our Catholic roots and our community health traditions, BayCare’s values ensure that “the care offered is not limited to the treatment of disease or bodily ailment, but embraces the physical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions of the human person.”¹ Spirituality is an essential element of human life which facilitates the integration of physical, emotional, psychological and sacred dimensions of humanity. As such, BayCare recognizes spiritual care as an integral and essential part of health care delivery.

Our Commitment to All Faiths

BayCare chaplain teams provide spiritual and emotional support for persons from any faith as well as to those who do not identify with a specific religious tradition.  Spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose. This comes in many different forms including a variety of religious expressions. All persons have a spiritual dimension though not all identify with a particular religion. Chaplain teams evaluate and develop care plans for individuals based on the individual’s personal connectedness to the religious, spiritual, or sacred.

Clinical Pastoral Education

Our Clinical Pastoral Education program hosts residents and interns from a wide range of religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.  Our certified ACPE supervisors provide education that is second to none.

Community Services

• Community education
• Coordination of care with local faith communities
• Facilitation of support groups
• Working in partnership with the Faith Community Nursing program
• Bereavement support programming

Hospital Services

• Advanced care planning
• Bereavement support
• Critical incident stress management
• End-of-life care and anticipatory grief
• Ethics consultation
• Provision of sacraments, prayer and healing rituals
• Spiritual assessment with an appropriate plan of care
• Spiritual care provided 24/7
• For more information about spiritual care services at our hospitals:
  • Bartow Regional Medical Center
  • BayCare Alliant Hospital
  • BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel
  • Mease Countryside Hospital
  • Mease Dunedin Hospital
  • Morton Plant Hospital
  • Morton Plant North Bay Hospital
  • South Florida Baptist Hospital
  • St. Anthony’s Hospital
  • St. Joseph’s Hospital
  • St. Joseph’s Hospital-North
  • St. Joseph’s Hospital-South
  • St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital
  • Winter Haven Hospital
  • Winter Haven Women’s Hospital

¹Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Sixth Edition, p. 10.