Spiritual Care Services

Spiritual Care Services is dedicated to the healing journey of each person, honoring individual differences in cultural, spiritual, and faith backgrounds. Our function as members of the interdisciplinary care team is to assess, resource, and support healing and resilience. We also offer supportive interventions in times of worry or distress, including a caring presence, reflective listening, prayer, or meditation. For additional in-hospital religion-specific support, our  professional chaplains partner with spiritual care specialists of many religious traditions. When possible, Spiritual Care Services facilitates connections of families with leaders from their own religious communities. As health care chaplains, we listen with openness and respect to support the human spirit during this time of hospitalization.

The following are some of the faith-specific materials available:

• The Bible
• The Koran
• Prayer materials and inspirational readings from many religious and spiritual traditions
• Buddhist and Hindu audio chant boxes
• Holy water from the Ganges
• Holy water from Mecca
• Muslim prayer rugs
• Meditation cushions
• Prayer beads
• Rosaries and rosary guides
• Shabbat candles (battery-operated)

Availability may vary; we attempt to honor every request as best we can.

Our Sanctuary, Healing Garden, and Labyrinth

To promote a calm healing environment, we offer spaces for prayer, reflection, contemplation, and meditation during visits and stays in the hospital. The Sanctuary is open to patients, families, and staff of every background, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The outdoor Healing Garden and Labyrinth provide outside space for quiet reflection and meditative walking.

To reach a member of our spiritual care team, you may ask your nurse to page the on-call chaplain at 28888. You may also call (650) 723-6661 and ask for the operator to page the on-call chaplain.