Hospital Chaplains

Hospital pastoral care provides support especially in life crises caused by illness. Hospital chaplains serve as pastoral caregivers for patients, their relatives, and staff.

Get in touch

A female priest leans against a stone wall in a cemetery. Gravestones are visible in the background.

A bright room with birch-colored walls and ceiling, and a floor of brownish-gray tiles. Along the walls are chairs in shades of fuchsia.

A bright room with birch-coloured ceiling and walls. On the back wall is an altar with a cross. On either side of the room are fuchsia-coloured pews.

A man is leaning against a wall with a large window and a long hallway behind him.

A hospital chaplain provides pastoral care inside the hospital

Hospital chaplains are available for personal conversations in the hospital and in outpatient care. Every conversation is confidential and always takes place on the patient’s or client’s terms, with respect for their beliefs.

Mies nojaa seinään, jossa isot ikkuna ja takana pitkä käytävä.

Hospital pastoral care

What is hospital pastoral care?

Hospital pastoral care refers to psychotherapeutically oriented counselling aimed at helping people gain a deeper understanding of their own life in the midst of emotional and spiritual distress. Hospital pastoral care is also referred to as faith-based existential support, where the hospital chaplain helps and supports people during the biggest changes in their lives, such as serious illness and death.

What does a hospital chaplain do?

Hospital pastoral care is an integral part in the patient’s comprehensive care. The hospital chaplains also deliver church services and devotions inside the hospital, give the staff professional guidance, function as crisis workers, authorities, and educators, and are also involved in collaborative networks. In addition to this, they do regular collaborative work with other local parishes.

What kind of education does a hospital chaplain have?

The hospital chaplain is either a pastor or a lector of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. They have been certified as suitable for the role through a psychological test, hold a Master of Theology degree, and have completed specialized training in hospital pastoral care. Hospital chaplains also have training and experience in crisis intervention.

Areas covered by hospital chaplaincy in South Ostrobothnia

The Seinäjoki Parish provides hospital chaplaincy services in collaboration with the South Ostrobothnia social and health care services and other Evangelical Lutheran parishes in the region within the South Ostrobothnia welfare area. The service is free of charge. The hospital chaplains of the South Ostrobothnia area work at Seinäjoki Central Hospital and M-talo, as well as in the Seinäjoki Health Center, in the A4 ward.