HealthCare Chaplaincy Unveils Bold New Strategic Vision

Spirit-Centered, End-Of-Life Residential
Community to be Built in Manhattan

Each year in November, The HealthCare Chaplaincy and its many friends, colleagues, and benefactors gather for a gala evening at Cipriani 42^nd Street to bestow the Wholeness of Life Awards upon a very select group of healthcare providers. These professionals exemplify The Chaplaincy’s mission of caring for the whole person: spirit, mind, and body.

At the most recent celebration on November 9^th, over 500 guests became the first to hear that The Chaplaincy was moving forward with its strategic vision to build an 80-resident end-of-life care community in Manhattan, provisionally called the Wholeness of Life Center.

“ We have re-imagined how to care for people at the end of life,” The Chaplaincy’s president and CEO the Rev. Dr. Walter J. Smith, S.J. explained. “This new spirit-centered approach builds on our more than 45 years of knowledge, skills, and strengths in caring for the multifaith spiritual needs of the New York area community. Our mission is to care for the whole person. We rededicate ourselves to that mission by beginning to shape the way in which spirit-centered, end-of-life care is provided to support people of every faith, culture, and socioeconomic group.”

“Wholeness of Life Center will fulfill a great need…”
The concept of the Wholeness of Life Center was just one of 16 total recommendations that emanated from a nine-month intensive strategic plan development process. The other 15 pertained to the ongoing activities of The Chaplaincy. That plan was approved by the board of trustees in July of 2004.

Lawrence J. Toal, chairman of The HealthCare Chaplaincy, stated that in 2004 the board of trustees commissioned a comprehensive feasibility study that included finding answers to critical questions such as, “Was there a need for such a center? Was it feasible to build it? And most importantly, was The HealthCare Chaplaincy the one to do it?”

After a thorough review and critical analysis by the staff and board that lasted almost two years, the trustees unanimously and emphatically agreed there was an urgent need, it could be built in Manhattan, and, as Larry Toal said, “The HealthCare Chaplaincy was the one organization that could and should do it!”

“This is a tremendous step forward,” Toal continued, “I am convinced that the Wholeness of Life Center will fulfill a great need and will also strengthen and reinforce our existing programs.”

“ Integrates seamlessly with our mission…”
The Wholeness of Life Center will bring under one roof all the components of The Chaplaincy including pastoral care clinical services, chaplain and lay education, doctoral-level research, consultancy services and community outreach.

A purposeful aspect of this new center is the planned partnership with the City of New York to build a model pre-kindergarten through grade five school on the ground floor. This will create opportunities for learning at the beginning and the end of life for students and the residents.

	Each floor will be a microneighborhood for eight residents. The center area will be a common space for shared meals, group activities, and for visits from family and friends.

There will also be an independent group medical practice specializing in geriatrics and palliative care located in the building that will provide services to the residents and others in the community.

“ The facility will also contain the Center for Palliative Education, which will focus on helping medical professionals, social workers, and others outside the clerical world develop their spiritual care skills,” Chaplaincy COO Jeanne Lee said, adding, “Every design aspect and operational function of the Wholeness of Life Center will integrate seamlessly with our mission. We are called to do more and we will answer that call by creating a new spirit-centered way to care for people at the end of life and to teach others how best to care.”