By Nike Whitcomb
Imagine sitting at the bedside of a loved one in the hospital. You are all by yourself, and the prognosis is not great. There’s a gentle tap at the door, and a friendly face appears. It is a spiritual care visitor from Bishop Anderson House.
This is a true story: when my late husband was hospitalized for the last time, a volunteer from Bishop Anderson House came several times a week. He or she offered prayers and comfort without reservation. It was appreciated beyond words.
Volunteers from the spiritual care visitor program at Bishop Anderson house have been visiting patients in hospitals and nursing homes for more than 50 years. They are trained to be comforting and to uplift both patients and their family members.
But this isn’t all that Bishop Anderson House does..
Since their founding in 1948, Bishop Anderson house has done outreach ministry at local hospitals, provided extra support for area churches in the near West and West side of Chicago,
How Bishop Anderson House was created:
In 1948 The Rev. Richard Young began to develop a vision for a new ministry in the Episcopal Church, one that sought to help graduate medical students integrate science and religion in the healing sciences. He drew his inspiration from the humanistic aspirations of the Social Gospel and the work of Bishop Charles Palmerston Anderson, 4th Bishop of Chicago. Bishop Anderson had a vision of the Church as a transformer of society, an agent of change and healing in a culture where the institutions of humanity fall short of our dreams for a better world. The Anderson family remains active and generously supports Bishop Anderson House to this day.
Over the years, Bishop Anderson House has evolved and broadened:
Under Fr. Young’s leadership as Executive Director, the newly-formed Bishop Anderson House combined traditional chaplaincy duties with a ministry to graduate students in the Illinois Medical District, one of the world’s largest medical districts.
Rush Hospital
The Rev. Dr. Christian Hovde succeeded Fr. Young as Executive Director in the l970’s, and during his tenure new approaches to providing pastoral care were adopted. He developed a relationship between Bishop Anderson House and Rush University which culminated in the establishment of the Department of Religion, Health and Human Values at Rush University. That relationship flourishes in research collaboration, teaching Clinical Pastoral Education students, chaplaincy and education and widening our reach to people from all faith traditions.
Rush University Medical Center
Pastoral Care Visitors
During the tenure of The Rev. Trenton Pitcher, Bishop Anderson House implemented chaplaincy training programs for clergy and laity, including the Pastoral Care Visitor Program. This program currently has over 600 graduates serving as volunteer spiritual caregivers in hospitals, nursing homes, congregations and other institutions across Northern Illinois.
Growth and Stability
The Rev. James Risk succeeded Fr. Pitcher in 2003. The successful Campaign for the Future established a secure financial foundation for Bishop Anderson House to thrive in the face of deep cutbacks in hospital chaplain departments. Expansion of education programs and active collaboration with the Department of Religion, Health and Human Values ensures that Bishop Anderson House continues to grow as member of the Medical District community.
(l-r) The Rev. Canon Jay Risk, The Rev. Tommy Rogers, The Rev. Canon Trenton Pitcher
Today
Under The Rev. Tommy Rogers’ leadership, Spiritual Care Visitor Training now reaches a wider audience through online programming, and CPE supervision is a part of our partnership with Rush University, as well as a community-based CPE program facilitated by BAH. Rev. Dr. Micheal Smith is our full-time chaplain at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, The Rev. Rose Cicero serves as our part-time chaplain serving women and children and Rev. Dr. Ebony Only is our Community Chaplain working to build relationships with 14 congregations on the near West Side. We continue to partner with hospitals in the Illinois Medical District to offer regular Spirituality and Wellness events for medical practitioners.
Today we continue to drive the vision that Bishop Charles Anderson saw in the early part of the 20th century, creating a “house” where spirituality and medicine meet to equitably care for the whole person.
Chaplaincy
Our chaplains provide spiritual care to the patients, families and staff of John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, with costs borne by Bishop Anderson House.
Education
Our flagship Spiritual Care Visitor Training is offered online, and complemented with continuing education workshops for graduates. As adjunct CPE faculty, The Rev. Tommy Rogers supervises chaplaincy training at Rush University Medical Center.
Spiritual Care Visitor Training
Social Responsibility & Racial Justice
As healers and caregivers we are committed to continue our work dismantling racism and discrimination wherever we find it and to foster and protect the dignity and worth of every human being.
Spirituality & Wellness
Bishop Anderson House provides self-care and stress relieving events for medical personnel to combat burn-out and alleviate compassion fatigue.
ADVANCING HEALTH EQUITY
Promoting Healing Communities & Research
- Provide culturally and linguistically appropriate spiritual care support to second victims of trauma.
- Gather and provide qualitative and quantitative data related to secondary traumatic stress and the impact of spiritual care as an intervention for care workers.
- Embrace policy to advocate for health equity and spread awareness of legislation and policies that promote health equity.
- Promote dialogue through the facilitation of community conversations about health disparities and why healthcare equity matters, collectively.
- Define what equity looks like in our community and set actionable communal goals for both care providers and care receivers through inquiry and listening using oral and visual storytelling.
- Healing community and furthering health justice though the development and delivery of content and curricula that prompts discourse, increases collaboration, enlarges base and deepens community relationships.
What does it mean to be a board certified chaplain?
Board certification is the process by which candidates demonstrate their competence, qualifications and ability to function as a professional chaplain. One purpose of board certification is to assure the public and the employing organization that the chaplain has met established national standards for professional competence, and is held to a code of ethics. A second purpose is to promote the continuing education and development of certified spiritual care providers.
Board certified chaplains are professional chaplains certified through one of three organizations in the United States: The Association of Professional Chaplains, Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains, or National Association of Catholic Chaplains. Each organization has its own standards for certification and we invite you to check them out based on your faith background.
Chaplain on the phone
Both our spiritual care visitors and professional chaplains are trained to support patients and families of any religious background or none; do not proselytize or promote any faith tradition and operate within the scope of their authority and practice. Spiritual care visitors operate under the authority of the faith community leader, board certified chaplain, head of volunteer services, or whomever they report up to.
Spirituality & Wellness
A key component of caring for others is being aware that wellness and prevention can abate some crises. As we learn more and more about healthy lifestyles and the importance of mental health care, Bishop Anderson House is pleased to offer programs to promote the well-being of all individuals–as well as communities. Our current focus is fostering an atmosphere of self care for all personnel in the Illinois Medical District, in particular our partners at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County.
- To develop an atmosphere of self-care we currently host stress reduction events for the staff of John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County. These include “Chat with a Chaplain” and virtual offerings of progressive muscle relaxation that can be accessed online.
- To assist with healthy grieving, we have hosted periodic memorial services so that staff may honor the patients they have cared for.
- We provide Five Wishes booklets and offer presentations about end of life planning throughout the region. Contact Kim Lessner at kim_lessner@rush.edu to schedule a presentation for your community.
- Alumni events for Spiritual Care Visitor Training graduates focus upon self-care for the caregiver. The Rev. Rose Cicero can provide more information about upcoming events. (Rose_Cicero@rush.edu)
- Spiritual Care Visitor Training is geared towards individuals who want to learn the art of being a healing presence through basic skills of active listening. Other topics covered provide skills needed in the role of a spiritual care visitor versus a professional chaplain or faith community leader.
- The intended audience for Spiritual Care Visitor Training is that person who wishes to enhance their spiritual care skills by learning how to support members of their faith community in times of transition and change. These learned skills can also be applied to different volunteer opportunities at nursing homes, hospice centers and hospitals. Graduates have found it to be very empowering and a very meaningful way to increase their capacity to care for others.
- Participants gather for an innovative retreat which will include a time of spiritual reflection, followed by workshops that will explore how to be an “active listener”, talk about advance directives as well as grief and loss. This is followed by a series of 9 online modules and active, mentored participation in field work serving in a pastoral care role.
- For 2025, the regular tuition of $325 is being waived. Students will only have to pay a $100 non-refundable registration fee for the background check. Class size is limited to 20 students.
- For more information and questions, contact Kim Lessner at 312-563-4825 or Kim_Lessner@rush.edu.
