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CAPC Palliative Care Discussion Forum
Chaplaincy in Palliative Care Settings

Next Reply: Re:How Many Chaplains are Needed??
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Post How Many Chaplains are Needed??
Author: TNYC
Date: May 19, 2008 1:44 pm
How do we decide how many chaplains we need for our palliative care inpatient service? What is the process to decide how many are needed?
Replies: order by [Date] [Author] [Subject]
Re:How Many Chaplains are Needed?? (by ghandzo on 05/20/2008)
First, there is and should not be any standard ratio used in this calculation. The calculation begins with the question, How does the team see chaplains contributing to the palliative care team? What issues should they deal with? Are they going to see every admitted patient within one day of coming on the service or only see patients on referral? There needs to be a clear understanding among the team members about what the chaplain's job is. From this understanding, a staffing standard will naturally emerge.

The Rev. George Handzo, BCC
Vice President
Pastoral Care Leadership & Practice
The HealthCare Chaplaincy
New York, NY
Re:How Many Chaplains are Needed?? (by Tim_Ford on 05/20/2008)
I agree with Rev. Handzo. There is no market standard, there is only how far your team is willing to commit to the spiritual dimensions of care and staff support. My FTE covers an 11-bed inpatient unit with a daily census of 1-4 off-unit consult patients. This takes 50-75% of my time depending on the situation. I spend the rest of my time on education, research, and staff support. --Tim Ford, Thomas Palliative Care, VCU Health System.

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