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1. Executive Director’s Reflection
2. Health Progress devotes May-June 2009 issue to Pastoral Care
3. Only three days yet to nominate for NACC Board Position!
4. Welcome new NACC staff member, Jeanine Annunziato
5. Thank you, NACC Volunteers!
6. Hospice/Palliative Care NACC Chaplains networking continues!
7. Summit ’09 Resources Available
8. Requesting examples of pastoral staff models
9. Documentation at the bedside
10. Special Request to NACC Members
11. Local/regional event dates
12. Other educational events
13. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
14. Recent job postings
15. Positions wanted

The May-June 2009 issue of Health Progress, released during this past week, is devoted to pastoral care. I hope all of you will be able to access it, read it, discuss it with your staffs, pass it along to associates where possible, and use it as a basis for further dialogues on your ministry of spiritual care. One of our longtime and devoted NACC members wrote me later in the week the following comments about this issue.

“This is by far one of the single most comprehensive overviews of Professional Chaplaincy in Catholic Healthcare that I have seen in over twenty years. While we all know there will always be more to the story that could be said, I have to say that I truly believe our Pastoral Teams and leaders will be unpacking the depths of this resource for a long time. My hope and prayer is that this serves to inspire and focus our collective vision into the future to work with one united voice for the good of the patient, the family, the physicians, staff and all volunteers with whom we serve across the continuum of care.”

I appreciate this member’s response and perspective to this edition. I want to especially thank Pamela Schaeffer, Ph.D., editor of Health Progress, for the excellent selection and editing of articles. From a personal point of few she was very helpful to Mary Lou O’Gorman and me as we completed our article in a way that it would complement the other articles which only Pamela had access to. Her recommendations were excellent.

I also again want to thank Brian Yanofchick, Senior Director, Mission and Leadership Development, for Catholic Health Association (CHA). As most of you know, Brian has led CHA’s partnership efforts with NACC, and has been an ardent supporter and advocate for pastoral care and chaplaincy. I am very grateful to Brian for his invaluable efforts on behalf of spiritual care in Catholic health care, and throughout the country. We look forward together to advance the ministry of spiritual care.

Appreciatively,
David A. Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director

“Do We Care Enough about Pastoral Care?” is Health Progress May-June 2009 (released this past week) issue’s title and theme. Its subtitle is, “Low salaries, high qualifications and lack of benchmarks put the profession at risk.” The NACC office has already heard from several members regarding its value and benefit for pastoral care. You can access the feature articles at: www.chausa.org/Pub/MainNav/News/HP/.

The NACC Board of Directors (BOD) is calling for nominations for the at-large BOD elected member to replace the position that will be vacated by Patrick Bolton in 2010 when his term expires. This year, the BOD did an assessment and determined that candidates with one or more of the following experiences are needed for leadership in the NACC in order to carry forth the vision and strategic plan of the organization:

• Has experience in institutional/organizational thinking
• Has experience in cutting edge communication and marketing tools
• Has experience in the NACC and knows the membership well
• Has experience in management and strategic planning
• Has previously served on a board.

Please go to www.nacc.org/aboutnacc/board_election.asp for the details on how to nominate members, and to download an application. All applications must be sent to the National Office and postmarked by this Wednesday, April 30, 2009!

All certified members who meet the basic criteria (both the competencies and professional experiences listed above) may stand as candidates for election. We encourage members to nominate a peer who meets these criteria along with a brief letter of recommendation for candidacy (please, no more than one page). Nominees must be informed and agree to stand for election. Certified members who meet the criteria may also self-nominate, providing a brief letter indicating their rationale for candidacy. All applications must be postmarked by April 30, 2009, and will be reviewed by members of the NACC Governance committee. The slate of candidates will be proposed to the voting membership by September 2009. Elections will take place, on-line, during the month of October. This new election method will be explained in future issues of NACC Now and in the Vision. Results will be announced on November 2, 2009. Any questions about the nomination process can be directed to David Lichter (dlichter@nacc.org) at the national office.

Please join us in welcoming our new NACC staff member, Jeanine Annunziato, who has assumed the part-time position of Administrative Specialist Education Programs. She will be part of the Certification and Education Team, with Susanne Chawszczewski, Rose Mary Blanco-Alvarado, and Becky Evans, and provide administrative support for both local events and our national conference, along with other responsibilities that assist the Certification and Education Team complete its work. Welcome, Jeanine!

As this National Volunteer Month winds to a close, we again warmly thank all our members who generously and faithfully volunteer to serve in our many leadership and service roles within the NACC. We could not fulfill our mission without your spirit, countless hours, expertise, and willingness to do what it takes. Please go to www.nacc.org/volunteers, review the list and offer a prayer or send a note of thanks for their gifts!

We continue to have a strong response from members who are working in hospice and palliative care ministries to network among each other. The list serve is being well used. We will also be setting up conference calls of this group in the very near future. If you would like to participate, please e-mail cbridges@nacc.org and we will get you involved in the list serve.

Remember that PowerPoint presentations and handouts from the workshops at Summit ’09 are available on the Spiritual Care Collaborative website at www.spiritualcarecollaborative.org/summit-archive.asp. If a presenter’s materials aren’t available, they were not given to the SCC to post.

The Ascension Spiritual Care Task Force is attempting to set standards for staffing (chaplains assigned per number of patients) and are gathering information about current chaplain-patient ratios and factors that influence that ratio (acuity, nature of coverage, services provided etc.). If you have developed such a staffing plan and are willing to share the "plan" as well as the rationale for it and any other related information, please e-mail this material to Mary Heintzkill at maryheintzkill@borgess.com or Mary Lou O'Gorman at mogorman@stthomas.org. In return Ascension will share what they assemble with those who contribute.

How are you responding pastorally to the issue of documentation? One of our members working in hospice would like to know how other members document (right away at the bedside or away from the bedside). Any policies or procedures for documentation or thoughts on whether it should be done at the bedside or away from the bedside would be most helpful. You can send them to Susanne at schaw@nacc.org for compilation.

This coming weekend, May 2-3, 2009, the NACC will be conducting chaplain certification interviews in Milwaukee, WI; Silver Spring, MD; Baltimore, MD; and Orange, CA. Please hold in prayer all of our 44 applicants and all the generous NACC members who have volunteered to serve as Interviewers, Interview Team Educators, and Site Coordinators.

More local gatherings are being set. Please review the list below, and mark your calendars. More details of events will be in future NACC Now's.

• Thursday, April 30, 2009, Minneapolis, MN. See details/register
• Monday, May 18, 2009, Assumption College, Worcester, MA. See details/register
• Monday, June 1, 2009, Camp Hill, PA. See details/register
• Tuesday, June 9, 2009, New Orleans, LA. See details/register
• Thursday, June 11, 2009, Manhasset, NY. See details/register
• Saturday, June 27, 2009, Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee. See details
• Thursday, July 23, 2009, Omaha, NE. Joint APC/NACC.

In the past two weeks we have been alerted to other educational events that you can find on the NACC website. They include:

• May 3, 2009, Hankinson, ND, “The Legacy of Terri Schiavo”
• May 8, 2009, Lakewood, NJ, First Pastoral Care Conference, “Spiritual & Medical Care: Partners in Healing”
• May 18-22, 2009, Fresh Meadows, NY, CHAP 25th Anniversary Program
• June 1-3, 2009, La Crosse, WI, The International Death, Grief and Bereavement Conference, “Grieving: Cross Cultural”
• June 5, 2009, Trenton, NJ, Day of Reflection for those who Care for the Sick & Dying, “Pastoral Care through the Eyes of Saints Francis and Clare”

Please let us know if you would like our membership to pray for your health and healing. We continue to pray for Raymond Kelleher (heart surgery); Fr. Bill Spacek (detached retina and other eye issues); Jim Castello (recovering from surgery); Sr. Nancy Crane, OP (cancer treatment); Bro. Brian Boyle, CPPS (broken foot), Sr. Hilda Mallet, MHS (cancer treatment), Sr. Rita Rzeppa, IBVM (recovering/rehab from knee surgery), and Dennis Eldridge (Kathy's husband, for cancer treatment).

The following positions have been posted in the last two weeks. Please go to our job board for more information about them.

PT CHAPLAIN
     Bergen/Passaic Counties, NJ – Compassionate Care Hospice

CHAPLAIN
     Ketchikan, AK – Ketchikan General Hospital

HOSPITAL PRIEST/CHAPLAIN
     Towson, MD – St. Joseph Medical Center

In this time of change and uncertainty it is more important than ever to use every resource available. If you have lost your job recently, if you’re just seeking a new or better position, or if you are an employer seeking a chaplain for your organization, be sure to visit our Positions Wanted webpage. NACC members can take advantage of this free service by placing a job-seeking ad, for free, which will run for 60 days. To see the ads, visit www.nacc.org/positions/wanted.asp. To place your own ad, send an email to Phil Paradowski: pparadowski@nacc.org.