Children's Hospital knows sickness and injury are emotionally trying for families, who often require special assistance and support. The Pastoral Care department at Children's Hospital offers patients and their families spiritual care and resources in their time of need, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Families can request prayer, have their personal clergy contacted or just receive support for any situation.

Children's Hospital Chaplains Rick Callaway, Sandy Foster and Shirley Bunting make rounds and provide services to all floors and departments. They also receive referrals from staff about critical cases, families in great stress and those who request assistance. The chaplains always try to contact each family with a child in the Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Units and spend time with each family to let them know Pastoral Care is available if they want to share their feelings and needs. Chaplain Callaway said he seeks to get to know the patient families, understand their needs and find ways to help them. "I respond to the information they give me concerning their spiritual history, and if there is a crisis, I will know who they would want us to call," said Callaway of his role in helping patients and their families.

If a family has very specific spiritual needs, the chaplains can contact other clergy in the area to help meet the family's requests. Each Children's Hospital chaplain is familiar with many different religious groups to ensure every family's spiritual needs can be met.

Pastoral Care is designed with patients and their families in mind. The chaplains understand hospitalization is stressful for parents and often scary for patients. The chaplains interact with patients and get to know them by visiting the children and letting them talk about their concerns or anything else important to them. Particularly in cases where patients have chronic conditions that require frequent hospitalizations, the chaplains get to know the child and his or her situation and work to meet the patient's needs.

The chaplains also track patients and families throughout their stay, periodically checking in on them to ensure their needs are continually being met, and offer follow-up care and provide post-hospitalization support when needed.