Dear Clergy,

We hope the following information will be helpful to you during visits to our hospital.  Your presence and care for those who are sick or injured is an important part of their healing and well-being.  We value the care you bring, and we want to assist you in any way we can to facilitate your ministry.

Please consider becoming one of our on-call chaplains.  These are weekly appointments running from Wednesday to Wednesday.

The Reverend Richard H. White
Chaplain and Director of Religious Ministries

Click one of the following headings for additional details:

• About the Department of Religious Ministries
• Clergy Parking
• Hospital Identification Badges
• Visitation Lists
• The Department and You
• Pastoral Care Support

About the Department of Religious Ministries

The Department of Religious Ministries is staffed by six chaplains, two of whom are full time.  We have a full-time office coordinator, 10 volunteers, and five field education students from Princeton Theological Seminary (four during the academic year and one during the summer).

Our office is located next to the Morgan Interfaith Chapel on the first floor of University Medical Center at Princeton, 253 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ 08540.  Office hours are 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

You may contact us by phone at 609.497.4231 or by fax at 609.430.7302.  After 3:30 p.m., you may contact us through the hospital operator by calling 609.497.4000.

Chaplains are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Evening and weekend hours are supported by local clergy as volunteer on-call chaplains.

Our staff consists of the following members:

The Reverend Richard H. White -- Director

Chaplains:

The Reverend Cheryl Regis -- Merwick, Princeton House
Rabbi David Wolf Silverman -- UMCP
Sister Mary Soerensen, sfcc -- UMCP
Rabbi Karen Bookman-Kaplan -- Hospice Program
The Reverend Ann Schoonover -- Hospice Program

Office Coordinator: Barbara Darvin

Clergy Parking

It will be most convenient for you to park in the hospital garage on Henry Street.  The garage can be entered from the main entrance or Henry Street.  Parking is free when using a parking pass, which is available from our Office Coordinator, (609.497.4231).  Alternatively, you may have your parking receipt validated in our Coordinator's Office.

There are three designated Clergy Parking spots on the garage's first floor near the cashier's station.

Parking lots are available at Princeton House Behavioral Health at 905 Herrontown Road, Princeton and Merwick Care Center at 79 Bayard Lane, Princeton.  Parking is free at both locations.

Hospital Identification Badge

To obtain a clergy identification badge, contact our Office Coordinator by phone at 609.497.4231 to schedule an appointment to have your picture taken.  Appointments are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

If you are new to our area, we would welcome the opportunity to offer you a tour of the medical center.

Visitation Lists

You may request a listing of hospitalized members of your congregation from our Office Coordinator at 609.497.4231.  You will also find a "Clergy List" of patients in our departmental office on the first floor of University Medical Center at Princeton. An access code is available in the event the door is locked; please contact the Coordinator's Office for more information.

During nights and weekends, please call the hospital operator at 609.497.4000 for patient information.

The Department of Religious Ministries and You

Clergy Notifications.  HIPPA regulations require patients to give their consent to have the hospital notify you of their admission.  We will contact you as soon as we receive such requests.  Please note that only those patients who have given their consent are listed on the religious census in our Coordinator's Office.

Chaplain Visits.  In the event that you are unable to visit hospitalized members of your congregation, please contact us and one of our chaplains will visit on your behalf.

Community Educational Events.  Staff chaplains are available to speak to your congregation or study group on a wide range of topics related to healing, wholeness and health. Topics include:

• Pastoral Care.  The Department of Religious Ministries offers a Become a Compassionate Visitor training program for local churches, parishes and synagogues.  It is intended for deacons, Stephen Ministers, or other congregational care or ministry teams who visit the sick. 
• Advanced Directives.  We support seminars on Advance Directives for Health Care, Planning Ahead, which can be tailored to the needs of your congregation.
• Mental Health/Addictions.  In 2007 the Department of Religious Ministries began working with Princeton House Behavioral Health to offer the Clergy Connections tool kit.  Topics covered include mental health issues, addiction and co-occurring disorders.  In this tool kit you will find different resources put together by behavioral health professionals and geared specifically to diverse faith communities. Anyone interested in receiving a copy of the tool kit can contact The Rev. Richard White.
• Older Adults. We offer a community presentation titled Hope - the Source of Eternal Strength, which is oriented toward older adult audiences.
• The Louise Lauck Kingston Lecture.  This annual lecture on spirituality and health is offered in the spring.  Previous speakers have included Dr. Harold Koenig (Duke University), Dr. Thomas Finucane (Johns Hopkins), Dr. John Poteet (Harvard) and Dr. Farr Curlin (University of Chicago).  These lectures are linked to the hospital's Continuing Medical Education program for physicians and other healthcare professionals.

To obtain more information about these programs, call us at 609.497.4231.

Pastoral Care Support

You are welcome to stop by our department at any time with questions and concerns related to your ministry.  We welcome the opportunity to explore with you pastoral care issues, strategies and resources.

We also can arrange hospital tours for you and your staff. In addition, we will be delighted to brief you on plans for our new replacement hospital, scheduled to open in 2011. You may call 609.497.4231 for more details about the relocation plans, or get additional information on our website, www.newhospitalproject.org.