Our spiritual care specialists, sometimes called chaplains, offer support to you and your family

OHSU Spiritual Services provides spiritual and emotional support to patients, family members and other loved ones at OHSU Hospital or Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. 

This information can help whether you are at OHSU now or planning a hospital stay.

Who can receive spiritual services?

We are available for all OHSU patients and family members. Our spiritual care specialists work with people of any faith or no faith, those who have questions and those who aren’t sure. We support everyone. We will not try to change your beliefs.

Ask your care team or call 503-494-8777. Spiritual care specialists are available every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Services are free. If you need urgent support outside these hours, ask someone on your care team to page the on-call specialist.

Support for patients and families

You do not need to be religious to ask for a visit.

A spiritual care specialist, sometimes called a chaplain, can help with a range of issues, including if:

• You are scared, grieving or overwhelmed
• You need support while making decisions about your health or a loved one’s health
• You just had a baby or other special event
• You are struggling with illness or a difficult diagnosis
• You have a religious need, like prayer, communion or another ritual
• You are seeking meaning in the face of suffering

A spiritual care specialist can also join you and your family in discussions with your care team.

Spiritual care specialists visit units like intensive care, so you may see us around OHSU hospitals. Please feel free to ask if you’d like to talk.

Religious and faith-based support

If you are religious, we are happy to support you. People meet with us for prayer, communion, anointing and other religious rituals. We have religious texts, rosaries, prayer shawls, prayer rugs and other faith-related items, along with coloring pages for kids and adults.

Services include: 

• Prayer, communion, confession, blessings, anointing or other rituals
• Baptism, including emergency baptism
• Help arranging religious dietary needs, such as kosher or halal meals

Our specialists come from a range of faith backgrounds, but their role is to support you in your tradition. If you'd like a visit from someone in your faith, we can contact someone in our community network. The network includes local spiritual leaders and trained volunteers.

If your own faith leader can’t visit in person, we can often connect you by phone.

Support during serious illness and end-of-life care

Spiritual care specialists provide grief support, end-of-life support and support during serious illness for patients and families alike. This can include:

• Anointing, prayer and blessings
• Help arranging for your own clergy or someone of your faith to be with you
• Support marking a milestone, like the birth of a baby or the loss of a loved one
• Life review or legacy work in whatever form is meaningful to you
• Family support while you process a difficult diagnosis or hospital stay

Our excellence

Our specialists are trained to support and strengthen your unique sense of meaning, purpose and belonging. Studies show spiritual care can improve quality of life by reducing distress, depression and anxiety.

Our team has decades of combined experience. Our specialists also have training and national certification in providing spiritual care in a health care setting. We follow OHSU values such as respect, compassion, cultural humility and inclusion.

Frequently asked questions

Is a spiritual care specialist available 24/7?
No. Our regular hours are 9 a.m. to  5 p.m. every day. For urgent needs outside those hours, ask your care team to page an on-call specialist.

Can I get prayer before surgery?
Yes. Ask your care team ahead of time to request a visit.

Can family members of someone in the ICU get spiritual support?
Yes. Spiritual care is available to family members and caregivers, not just patients.

Is spiritual care available for childbirth?
Yes. You can request a visit before, during or after delivery, whether you'd like a blessing, a prayer or simply someone present.

Is spiritual care available at the end of life?
Yes. Spiritual care specialists can offer anointing, prayer, blessings and grief support for patients and families. We can also help arrange for your own clergy or someone of your faith to be with you.

What happens during a visit?
We provide whatever you need at the time. We can sit quietly with you or your loved one, pray, celebrate a faith ritual or just listen.

Will the specialist try to convert me?
No. We will never try to change your mind or convince you of anything. Our job is to support you, not to promote our own beliefs.

Is what I share with a specialist confidential?
In most cases, yes. Like the rest of your care team, spiritual care specialists document visits in your medical record. We are required to report any concern that you or someone else may be at risk of harm. But other than safety concerns, whatever you say is private.

Can I get spiritual care after I leave the hospital?
Our team doesn’t offer formal follow-up care, but we can point you toward community grief and hospice support groups.

Learn more

• Code of Ethics, Association of Professional Chaplains
• Spirituality in Cancer Care, National Cancer Institute
• The Impact of Professional Spiritual Care 
• Truths and Misconceptions: Spiritual Care