Spiritual health practitioners offer care to both patients and staff at these B.C. hospitals – CBC

‘We are kind of there without any agenda, other than just supporting 100%,’ says one ER practitioner

Oct 24, 2023

Lives can be forever changed in emergency rooms and a new pilot project at three B.C. hospitals aims to help patients, families and staff deal with the emotional fallout of those changes.

Spiritual health practitioners offer holistic care in the emergency departments at Langley Memorial, Surrey Memorial and Abbotsford Regional Hospital.

They are not affiliated with any religious faith. The work they do varies and can include navigating end-of-life care, liaising with spiritual, religious or cultural groups, and being an empathetic sounding board for people.

While spiritual health practitioners are already working in health-care settings across the province, this is the first time Fraser Health has provided the service in emergency rooms.

“ER departments are facing severe pressure across not just B.C. but the country and, from my understanding, Fraser Health was really interested in finding ways to add support,” said Caitlin Kennedy, senior coordinator, quality improvement at Fraser Health.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/fraser-health-er-spiritual-practitioners-1.7005254