Spiritual Care
Support for what matters most, whatever you believe
Spiritual care is part of hospice care, offered by your interdisciplinary hospice care team. Serious illness often brings big questions about meaning, faith, relationships and what comes next, and our hospice chaplains are here to listen and to walk beside you and the people you love.
What Is Spiritual Care in Hospice?
Spiritual care is part of hospice care. Chaplains are members of your interdisciplinary hospice care team and work alongside nurses, physicians, social workers, aides and volunteers, so spiritual support fits naturally with everything else in your care plan.
Spiritual needs can become more important when someone is living with a serious illness. For some people they center on faith and prayer. For others they are about meaning, forgiveness, family or the legacy they want to leave.
Spiritual care is open to every patient and family, whatever their tradition or level of belief, including no religious belief at all.
How Our Chaplains Help
Listening without judgment
Chaplains offer a calm, open presence. You can share fears, hopes and memories without being told what to believe.
Rituals, prayers and music
If faith traditions matter to you, chaplains can support religious rituals, prayers and music that bring comfort.
Reflection and meaning
Chaplains help people talk through the questions that often arise near the end of life, such as purpose, forgiveness and what they hope to pass on.
Support for families
Chaplains help families find the words to say goodbye and can offer comfort to loved ones at the bedside and afterward.
Tikvah Jewish Care and Support
Faith and tradition can shape what comfort looks like. Tikvah, which means hope, is our Jewish care and support program for patients and families who want care that feels familiar and respects their traditions.
Depending on your area, Tikvah may include:
- Visits from rabbis with patients and families
- Shabbat services for patients and their loved ones
- Support honoring Jewish traditions and holiday observances
Tikvah is available through Trustbridge Hospice in Palm Beach and Broward Counties and Tidewell Hospice in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota Counties.
Spiritual Care Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be religious to receive spiritual care?
No. Our chaplains support people of all traditions and levels of belief, including people who are not religious.
Will the chaplain share my faith?
Chaplains are trained to support people of every belief, and their role is to meet you where you are.
Can family members receive spiritual care too?
Yes. Spiritual care is for patients and the people who love them.
