Since August 2009, I have been employed by Bon Secours Hampton Roads, which is part of the Bon Secours International health system. It was founded by Catholic nuns (the sisters of Bon Secours) and has kept the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as part of its mission for 100+ years.
When I began working for BSHR, I had to attend a new employee orientation, which lasted all day. By and large, hospital orientations for new employees are extremely similar, and Bon Secours was no exception. However, there were a few key distinctions at this one that quite pleased me. First, nearly everyone who presented material highlighted the mission of Bon Secours and its status as a faith-based organization. Second, BSHR actually has an administrator whose main role is Mission. She's the one all the Spiritual Care departments answer to, and although I've only met her that one time, I was quite impressed. Third, we (meaning all employees, not just the chaplains) are not just permitted, but encouraged to PRAY with patients if they ask us and/or seem amenable to it. Wow. There are prayers said over the PA system twice a day, and at DePaul we even announce the newest babies each day (first and middle names only, never last names).
Once I began actually working, I noticed other differences. The Spiritual Care departments are much better staffed than at most secular hospitals. Both Maryview and DePaul have at least one chaplain (usually two during the week) in-house seven days a week, 365 days of year. Both hospitals have on-call coverage 24/7, and Maryview has (due to the resurrection of its CPE program) resumed offering 24/7 in-house coverage Monday through Friday. With that sort of staff, every patient is visited (or at least we attempt to visit them) at least once during their stay. We visit patients in critical situations more, of course, and are always available via the pager system for emergencies and other requests.
Next, the hospital staff, especially the doctors, nurses, CNA's, and other staff who directly care for patients, clearly value the chaplains and see us as a key part of the "team." That is not always the case at secular hospitals. I've also been impressed by the way the staff cares for patients and families when we're delayed or (rarely) not available. One time I arrived at the bedside of a recently deceased patient only to find that the family had already left (I guess they had been present when the patient died, and didn't feel like waiting for me to drive half an hour from Chesapeake). The staff on the unit assured me that the family had been "fine", and told me what they (the staff) had done to comfort them; prayer, listening to stories, offering support, etc. Basically, lots of what I would have done for that family. It was nice knowing that others had stepped up to the plate when the chaplain wasn't present.
I will also say that I believe that patient care is superior here than at many secular hospitals in the area. True, the facilities at other hospitals may occasionally be nicer, but if I had to choose between competent staff who exuded caring and a really fancy facility, I'd pick the latter in a heartbeat.
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