HealthCare Chaplaincy Network™ (HCCN), founded in 1961, is a global health care nonprofit organization that offers spiritual care-related information and resources, and professional chaplaincy services in hospitals, other health care settings, and online. Its mission is to advance the integration of spiritual care in health care through clinical practice, research and education in order to improve patient experience and satisfaction and to help people faced with illness and grief find comfort and meaning – whoever they are, whatever they believe, wherever they are.
Professional Board Certified Chaplains:
- Are the spiritual care specialists on the health care team as doctors and nurses focus on caring for the body, and as the recognition grows that whole-person care encompasses spirit, mind, and body.
- Serve those who are ill, family and friend caregivers, and other health care professionals who deal every day with the stress of illness and loss.
- Are trained to help people to identify and draw upon their sources of spiritual strength – regardless of religion or beliefs. As one very experienced professional chaplain says, “In our encounters with people in distress, we walk into some dark places and help bring in light.”
Overview of HCCN
- Chaplains trained and supported by HCCN and our affiliate, the Spiritual Care Association (SCA), provide person-to-person care for patients, their loved ones, and medical staff at hospitals across the country.
- We offer 25+ courses on various aspects of spiritual care through the SCA Learning Center. In 2021, 1,400 courses were taken through the Center.
- Our Caring for the Human Spirit Conference is an international, multidisciplinary event that brings together 300-400 chaplains, nurses, and other professionals each year to explore and share best spiritual care practices.
- HCCN supplies the only evidence-based curriculum for chaplaincy students to our educational partner, the Institute for Clinical Pastoral Training, which teaches over 500 students each year.
- We have pioneered telechaplaincy with our Chat with a Counselor call center, allowing people in any location to reach chaplains by phone, email, or video call for one-on-one care.
- HCCN creates best-practice papers for chaplains, nurses, social workers, physicians, and others, which focus on each discipline's role in meeting patients' and families' spiritual care needs.
- We consult with hospitals and other health care organizations around the country to provide in-depth guidance and support that improves their delivery of spiritual care.
The Wall Street Journal
View Videos About HealthCare Chaplaincy Network and Caring for the Human Spirit:
T. Michael Long, past Board Chairman of HealthCare Chaplaincy Network, talks about the importance of professional spiritual and chaplaincy care in providing excellent health care and HCCN’s contributions to the field.
Clinical Services
HCCN provides professional chaplaincy clinical services in leading health care institutions, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NYU Langone Medical Center, Hospital for Special Surgery and St. Mary’s Center.
HCCN publishes Caring for the Human Spirit® magazine twice a year, with articles of interest to chaplains, nurses, social workers and other health care disciplines. The print version is available by free subscription, and it is posted online.
