CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Sisters of Charity Health System is in the process of being given accreditation by the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, according to a press release.
The accreditation will allow the health system to expand its clinical pastoral education program. The classification is granted for 10 years.
During their site visit in 1998, the association recommended that UHHS/ CSAHS, which jointly owns St. John West Shore, St. Vincent Charity and Mercy Medical Center, move from a hospital-accredited center, in which each hospital’s program operated independently, to an accredited system center.
In November 2008, Sisters of Charity Health System, which includes St. Vincent Charity Hospital and St. John West Shore Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohio, and Providence Hospital in Columbia, S.C., was granted 10-year accreditation.
Accredited system center status allows for a wider student base; additional training and placement sites; simplified administration and account ability; greater financial stability; and positioning of the program as a system-wide asset. It also allows students to work at sites within the health system other than hospitals that provide care to patients.
“Pastoral care is part of the healing mission of the Sisters of Charity Health System,” said Sister Rosemarie Carfagna, OSU, senior vice president for mission and ministry.
The new program provides professional pastoral education for lay, vowed and clergy across the religious spectrum in both the hospital and community setting. Pastoral care integrates the spiritual component of an individual’s life to focus on their emotional needs while trying to find meaning out of whatever crises have brought them to that point.
For more information on the Sisters of Charity Health System or its individual
health care and outreach ministries, visit www.sistersofcharityhealth.org.