Our Spiritual Care Services
At Summa Health, healing goes beyond medicine. Our Spiritual Care clinical chaplains are here to offer emotional, spiritual and religious support to patients and families. Whether you're facing uncertainty, seeking comfort or simply need someone to listen to while in the hospital, we’re here to walk beside you with empathy and respect. We offer confidential support, compassionate listening and resources tailored to your unique needs—regardless of faith, tradition or belief system.
What We Offer
- Emotional and Spiritual Support: Delivers empathetic listening and spiritual care for patients and families experiencing stress, grief or emotional pain.
- Crisis Support: Stands beside patients, families and staff during medical crises — offering calm presence, comfort and guidance when urgent decisions must be made.
- Spiritual Guidance: Supports individuals in finding meaning, purpose and hope amid illness, loss or uncertainty — honoring all beliefs and faith traditions.
- Support for Families and Staff: Provides bereavement care to families during end-of-life moments and emotional support to healthcare staff facing burnout, grief or moral distress.
- Navigation and Communication: Serves as a liaison between patients and the care team, clarifying hospital processes, advocating for patient needs and supporting clear, compassionate communication.
- Religious Support: Provides meaningful access to religious practices or a HIPAA-protected connection to local clergy while respecting the diverse spiritual beliefs of every person.
Resources
How to Reach a Chaplain
Chaplains are available during regular hours for routine visits and 24/7 for urgent needs.
Ask your nurse or care provider to contact Spiritual Care or call us directly on 330.375.6199.
To request a Prayer a Bible or scriptures and to have a Eucharist Minister or a Priest visit, call us directly at 330.375.6199.
FAQs
What is the difference between religion and spirituality?
Religion is a set of texts, practices or beliefs about faith shared by a community and involves a relationship with the God of a person’s understanding.
Spirituality is about a person’s ideas of the sacred or the transcendent and questions surrounding that. This may or may not involve a relationship with God and others.
Both share belief, comfort and a means of reflecting on ourselves and the sacred.
How can my loved one benefit from a chaplain visit while in the hospital?
A hospital chaplain can offer significant emotional, spiritual and practical support during your loved one's hospital stay. Here’s how:
- Emotional and Spiritual Support: Chaplains are trained to provide a compassionate presence during times of stress, fear and uncertainty. They listen without judgment, offering comfort and a safe space for reflection or prayer, depending on your loved one’s beliefs.
- Coping with Illness: A chaplain can help your loved one process feelings of anxiety, sadness or frustration that often accompany illness or hospitalization. They provide guidance in finding inner strength and peace during difficult times.
- Crisis and End-of-Life Care: In times of crisis or when facing a serious diagnosis, chaplains are experienced in providing comfort for both patients and families. They can assist in end-of-life discussions and decision-making, offering emotional and spiritual care that aligns with your loved one's values.
- Facilitating Connections: Chaplains can also assist in connecting your loved one with a faith community, or support group if they wish. They act as a bridge for families to access community resources, prayer or rituals that may be important to them.
Overall, a chaplain provides holistic care that addresses not just physical healing, but emotional and spiritual well-being, which is especially important during times of health crises.
How can your chaplain answer specific religious asks if they are not from the same denomination as I?
Our chaplains are trained to provide respectful, compassionate care to people of all faiths, backgrounds and spiritual traditions—including those who do not identify with any religion. While they may not belong to your specific denomination or tradition, they are skilled in honoring your beliefs and supporting your unique spiritual needs.
If you have a specific religious request—such as a sacrament, prayer, ritual or guidance from your tradition—the chaplain can:
- Listen and provide support that aligns with your beliefs and values.
- Help facilitate religious practices to the best of their ability, including creating space and time for prayer, meditation or reflection.
- Connect you with a local clergy member or from your denomination, either within the hospital or in the area.
Grief and Coping
Locations - Sacred Spaces
Akron Campus Reflection Centers
There are two Reflection Centers located on the Akron Campus: One located on the first floor of the main hospital and the other in the Juve Family Behavioral Health Pavilion.
These non-denominational chapels are open to all and offer a quiet, peaceful space for reflection, prayer, meditation or simply a moment of stillness.
All are welcome, regardless of faith, tradition or spiritual background.
Barberton Campus Chapel
Located on the second floor, just across from the south elevators, the Barberton Campus Chapel offers a quiet, welcoming space for reflection, prayer, meditation or simply a moment of calm.
Open to patients, families and staff of all backgrounds, the chapel is a place to pause, breathe and find peace—no matter what brings you through our doors.
Spiritual Care Visitation
The Spiritual Care team provides patient, family and employee support at our two hospital locations.
Summa Health System – Akron Campus
141 N. Forge St.
Akron, OH 44304
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Juve Family Behavioral Health Pavilion
Summa Health System - Akron Campus
45 Arch St
Akron, OH 44304
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Summa Health System - Barberton Campus
155 5th St NE,
Barberton, OH 44203
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Meet the Team
The Summa Health Spiritual Care team provides compassionate spiritual, emotional and religious support to patients, families and healthcare staff in times of need.
Our chaplains offer a supportive presence through active listening, guidance and bereavement care—welcoming individuals of all religious backgrounds and beliefs.