Pastoral Ministry to the Sick and Elderly In Nursing Homes and Hospitals
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Author
Kruml, Theresa
Date
1991
Degree
Master of Arts in Pastoral Theology
Abstract
Today we live in a high tech society characterized
by an aging population which is increasingly alienated
from the institutionalized churches. Also, in the
hospital and nursing home environment frequently the
spiritual dimension of the individual is neglected.
To illustrate, JCAHO, the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of
Hospital Organization, ranks pastoral
care third in importance (on a scale one to three)
whereas the Illinois Department of Public Health does
not even consider this area of care. While the health
care professionals endorse the holistic health care
concept, funds and personnel are often unavailable
to provide pastoral care in the institutions, and the
burden of care frequently falls of the shoulders of
the local Roman Catholic clergy and other Protestant
ministers.