Spiritual Care at MGH

“We aid the healing process by helping people identify and connect with resources that bring them meaning, purpose, resilience and joy,” says Donna Blagdan, director of MGH Spiritual Care.

Spiritual Care Department serves the spiritual needs of the hospital community. It offers religious-specific care for those who request services, providing a priest, evangelical pastor, rabbi, or imam when needed. Blagdan says the department’s focus, however, is much broader – caring for the spiritual health of all people, regardless of their beliefs.

“Every day at MGH, patients, families and staff encounter different forms of spiritual distress: grief, shock, hopelessness, and more. We listen deeply as they express these emotions and help them process the spiritual challenges they face,” says Blagdan. “We help people identify resources that are already in their lives, such as supportive family members, a meditation practice or time with their dog. We also help folks find their own internal resources — some of whom may be needing them for the first time.”

There are ten full time chaplains and additional part-time team members. Blagdan says most floors on the MGH main campus also have a unit chaplain, who are part of a patient’s care team. When requested, chaplains round with the clinical team, attend family meetings and visit with patients. MGH Spiritual Care oversees the multi-faith chapel offering a quiet spot to reflect, as well as the masjid available for Muslim prayer. Both spaces are open 24-hours a day, and the Spiritual Care team members are available by phone or page.

Blagdan says, “I appreciate how the palliative care physician, Christina Puchalski, MD, director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, defines spirituality: Spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.”

“If someone needs us, please reach out. We will always be there,” Blagdan says. For more information, visit massgeneral.org/spiritual-care.