"The XXXX is Dying, Please Call the Chaplain": The Activities of Chaplains in One Medical Center's Intensive Care Units.

@entity1 @entity204 @entity1213
CONTEXT: @entity1 and families commonly experience spiritual stress during an @entity1213 ( @entity1213 ) admission. Although most @entity1 report that they want spiritual support, little is known about how these issues are addressed by hospital chaplains. OBJECTIVES: To describe the prevalence, timing, and nature of hospital chaplain encounters in ICUs. METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of adult ICUs at an academic medical center. Measures included days from @entity1213 admission to initial chaplain visit, days from chaplain visit to @entity1213 @entity204 or discharge, hospital and @entity1213 lengths of stay, severity of illness at @entity1213 admission and chaplain visit, and chart documentation of chaplain communication with the @entity1213 team. RESULTS: Of a total of 4169 @entity1213 admissions over six months, 248 (5.9%) @entity1 were seen by chaplains. Of the 246 @entity1 who died in an @entity1213 , 197 (80%) were seen by a chaplain. There was a median of two days from @entity1213 admission to chaplain encounter and a median of one day from chaplain encounter to @entity1213 discharge or @entity204 . Chaplains communicated with nurses after 141 encounters (56.9%) but with physicians after only 14 encounters (5.6%); there was no documented communication in 55 encounters (22%). CONCLUSION: In the ICUs at this tertiary medical center, chaplain visits are uncommon and generally occur just before @entity204 among @entity1213 @entity1 . Communication between chaplains and physicians is rare. Chaplaincy service is primarily reserved for dying @entity1 and their family members rather than providing proactive spiritual support. These observations highlight the need to better understand challenges and barriers to optimal chaplain involvement in @entity1213 @entity1 care.
