Hospice spiritual care · Orientation manual · Coming soon
Hospice Chaplain Orientation Manual
A practical guide to hospice spiritual care
A chaplain can be excellent at the bedside and still be unprepared for hospice. The visit is only part of the work. The assessment, the plan of care, the IDG meeting, and the record all carry federal expectations. This manual walks a new chaplain through all of it.
Get notified at launch
Built on the Medicare hospice Conditions of Participation
Each section of the manual points to the federal standard it supports. Source: 42 CFR Part 418.
- 42 CFR 418.100(g)(1)
- Orientation to the hospice philosophy for all staff with patient and family contact
- 42 CFR 418.64(d)(3)(i)
- Assessment of the patient's and family's spiritual needs
- 42 CFR 418.64(d)(3)(ii)
- Spiritual counseling in accordance with the patient's and family's acceptance of the service
- 42 CFR 418.64(d)(3)(iii)
- Reasonable efforts to facilitate visits by local clergy, pastoral counselors, or others
- 42 CFR 418.64(d)(3)(iv)
- Advising the patient and family of the spiritual counseling service
- 42 CFR 418.100(g)(3)
- Assessment of skills and competence, with written methods of competency assessment
What the manual will cover
Planned contents. Final section titles may change before launch.
Hospice philosophy and the chaplain's place on the team
How hospice spiritual care differs from congregational, hospital, or military chaplaincy, and where the chaplain fits within the interdisciplinary group.
The spiritual assessment
Assessing the needs of both patient and family, within the comprehensive assessment timeframe, using language that respects every tradition and those who claim none.
Care that follows the family's lead
Offering spiritual counseling in line with what the patient and family accept, and documenting a decline in a way that still meets the standard.
Partnering with community clergy
Practical steps for reaching a patient's own faith leader, and how to record those efforts.
Documentation and the plan of care
Turning a meaningful visit into a clear note with goals and interventions the IDG can act on.
Bereavement partnership and competency
Working with the bereavement team after a death, plus checklists a manager can sign off to show how competence was assessed.
Who it is for
Federal rules require every hospice to orient new staff to the hospice philosophy and to their specific job duties, then assess their competence. This manual gives you a structured way to do that for this discipline.
- Hospice chaplains and spiritual care coordinators in their first 90 days
- Chaplains moving into hospice from hospital, congregational, or military settings
- Psychosocial and spiritual care managers who onboard new staff
- Agencies preparing for CHAP or ACHC survey readiness
Be the first to know
Join the notify list for the Hospice Chaplain Orientation Manual.
- The launch date, before it is public
- Launch pricing reserved for the list
- No other emails unless you ask for them
Questions
When will the Hospice Chaplain Orientation Manual launch?
It is in production now. Everyone on the notify list will receive the launch date and launch pricing before it is announced anywhere else.
Who is this orientation manual for?
It is written for hospice chaplains and spiritual care coordinators who are new to the role or new to hospice, and for the leaders responsible for onboarding them.
Which federal requirements does it address?
It is built around the spiritual counseling standard at 42 CFR 418.64(d)(3) and the orientation and training standard at 42 CFR 418.100(g).
Is it tied to one faith tradition?
No. The federal standard asks hospices to meet spiritual needs in a way that fits the patient's and family's acceptance of the service. The manual is written for chaplains serving people of every faith and those with none.
Who created it?
Tonia Barrier, MSN, RN, Founder and Principal Consultant of PAC Leadership Solutions and former CCO & Compliance Officer of a multistate hospice organization.