Pastoral Care
North Mississippi Medical Center-Tupelo offers a full-service Pastoral Care Department, while other NMMC locations provide access to local ministers and other faith community leaders, upon request. Chaplains offer pastoral care to patients and/or their family members and caregivers who request assistance in addressing spiritual concerns. The basic purpose of pastoral care is for spiritual healing through counseling and prayer to those in need.
NMMC hospitals in Amory and Eupora have volunteer chaplains who are available for visits, counseling and crisis support at the request of the patient or family. North Mississippi Medical Center-Hamilton staff maintains an on-call list that is denomination specific. Patients, family members and caregivers may request staff at NMMC-Iuka, Pontotoc and West Point to contact local ministers for them.
Chapels
NMMC's chapel is located on the hospital's third floor and is open 24 hours a day. The chapel contains a piano, stained glass window and seating. An automatic door provides convenient access. Located across the hallway from the chapel is a meditation room, which includes a stained-glass window, kneeling bench, recliner, small library of religious texts from various faith traditions and soft music. Use of the meditation room for prayer, relaxation and journaling is limited to 30 minutes. The meditation room, like the chapel, is open 24 hours a day and offers a calming environment for a quiet respite from the hospital setting.
Across the NMMC campus at the NMMC Women’s Hospital, the Haney-McCullar Chapel is available for use. The Courtyard near the Education Center offers a quiet respite for quiet time, prayer and meditation. NMMC Gilmore-Amory and NMMC-West Point have onsite chapels as well.
Pastoral Care Overview
North Mississippi Medical Center-Tupelo’s Pastoral Care Department seeks to address the spiritual needs of patients, families and caregivers through its chaplaincy program. These services are based on an initial, ongoing and documented assessment of the spiritual needs of patients. The chaplaincy program exists in the belief that through appropriate spiritual care, patients and families may be free to attain a degree of emotional and spiritual comfort that is satisfactory to them.
The Pastoral Care Department is as an integral part of NMMC's comprehensive approach of care for the whole person: physical, psychosocial, emotional and spiritual. In coordination with local faith community leaders, the Pastoral Care staff works to lessen the spiritual anxiety which often enters the lives of persons facing illness and hospitalization.
The nurturing ministries of Pastoral Care include:
Chaplain visits: Main Unit, Emergency Services, Short Stay Surgery, Critical Care Unit, Center for Digestive Health, Breast Care Center, Cancer Center, Behavioral Health and Women's Hospital in response to referrals by physicians, nurses, other NMMC staff members, patients and family members and patients' clergy.
Pastoral support: For families of patients undergoing inpatient or outpatient procedures.
Spiritual counseling and pastoral care: For medical staff, employees and members of the community.
Worship experiences: For patients, employees and medical staff in the chapels and at the bedside of patients.
Provisions of Bibles: For patients upon request.
Sacramental and ritual services: Administration of sacraments and other rites and ceremonies are provided by Pastoral Care staff or by arrangement with representatives of patients' religious communities.
Conducting annual Easter service, memorial services & Christmas service at NMMC
Bereavement counseling: For families dealing with the loss of loved ones.
Blessing of the hands for hospital staff during annual observance of Nurses Week.
Directing the resolution of ethical issues: Through providing consultation with the Medical Ethics Committee.
Work in collaboration with area pastors/ministers: In the provision of spiritual needs of the communities.
Conduct of facilitate clinical pastoral education (CPE) and other continuing education programming for chaplains and religious leaders in communities served by NMHS.
NMMC-Tupelo Chaplain's Availability
Weekdays: The Pastoral Care office is open from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Nights and Weekends: A chaplain may be requested by communicating with the patient's nursing staff or through the hospital switchboard. This service is provided for critical cases.
Chaplaincy Service can be requested at North Mississippi Medical Center-Tupelo by calling the Pastoral Care office at (662) 377-3439. Requests for a chaplain to visit a particular patient are welcomed and encouraged. Volunteer chaplains are also available to visit patients in the main hospital.
