Subject(s)
Catholicism , Hospitals, Religious , Organizational Objectives , Personnel, Hospital/psychology , Attitude of Health Personnel , Caregivers/education , Caregivers/psychology , Holistic Health , Hospitals, Religious/organization & administration , Hospitals, Religious/standards , Humans , Indiana , Inservice Training , Patient Satisfaction , Personnel, Hospital/education , WorkforceABSTRACT
In 1989 the leaders of Daughters of Charity National Health System-East Central Region (DCNHS-EC) decided to explore their 10 facilities' underlying spirituality. A study group made up of top DCNHS-EC management and representatives of other DCNHS regions and ministries met quarterly for a year to discuss four topics: The distinction between "spirituality" and "religion". The difference between "human development" and "human formation". The primacy, in contemporary Western culture, of the "functional' dimension of human life over the "transcendent" dimension. The importance of "beholding the Mystery" of life, rather than trying to control or manipulate it. In 1990, at the end of their sessions, the group's participants published Spirituality and Spiritual Formation, a document summing up what they had learned. The leaders of each DCNHS-EC facility were urged to understand and support the document; the vice presidents for mission services were especially encouraged to integrate spirituality and spiritual formation in their work. Over the past seven years, the DCNHS-EC facilities have integrated spirituality in the workplace by emphasizing such events and activities as spirituality committees, retreats, renewal days, and pilgrimages. In September, St. Vincent Hospitals and Health Services, Indianapolis, broke ground for a spirituality center for its associates, medical staff, volunteers, and benefactors and the members of their families.
Subject(s)
Catholicism , Hospitals, Religious/organization & administration , Leadership , Focus Groups , Hospitals, Religious/standards , Humans , Mentors , Organizational Culture , Organizational Objectives , Pastoral Care , Religion and Medicine , United StatesABSTRACT
As religious sponsors increasingly relinquished their CEO positions throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, they established mission integration positions-staffed primarily by women religious-to help ensure the Catholic identity of their facilities. Now that role, too, is undergoing change as sponsors seek to empower the laity in their organizations with responsibility for carrying on the Church's healing mission. At St. Vincent Hospitals and Health Services in Indianapolis, the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, the organization's sponsor, has developed a mentoring program to train the laity in the roles and responsibilities involved in mission. The year-long program has 11 modules that present theory on such topics as ethics, spirituality, the sponsor's history and charism, and the relationship of the healthcare organization to the Church. Participants also attend committee meetings, complete a mission integration project, and gain practical experience in mission-related activities.
