Spiritual Care is an essential dimension of healthcare. It is a service that integrates the spiritual dimension into the healing mission of the UC Irvine Medical Center and helps to humanize the medical/hospital environment. The Spiritual Care service is open to patients, families, staff and medical professionals of UCI Medical Center. The lead chaplain is also a member of the hospital Ethics Committee and the Organ Donation Council.

A chaplain is an officially designated, trained and certified spiritual care professional. Chaplains serve in an inter-denominational capacity, treating each person with integrity, honesty, dignity and compassion. Each chaplain is also endorsed by his or her religious congregation to perform the necessary religious services.

What do Spiritual & Pastoral Care providers do? In addition to human contact, we provide and maintain the prayer/meditation room located near the main lobby (Room 11). The meditation room is reserved for individuals wishing to have a quiet reflective time. We also provide literature and materials to help facilitate prayer.

Our Mission and Philosophy. At UCI Medical Center, we respect a diversity of faiths and moral traditions. We recognize the value of each person. We respect all living beings and the natural environment in which we live. We are committed to healing and alleviating suffering in all human aspects – emotional, social, spiritual and physical. We strive to attend to the whole person, offering simple companionship, prayer, counseling, ethics consult, ritual, end-of-life support, clergy connection, cultural awareness, staff education and other supportive services.

For more information about the Spiritual & Pastoral Support program, contact Lead Chaplain Joseph Son Nguyen at 714.456.6157 or email nguyenjs@uci.edu or Associate Chaplain Pirjo Carlisle at 714.456.1749 or email pcarlisl@uci.edu.