“People want to be heard and understood and want to have somebody accompany them on their healthcare journey,” explains the Rev. Mary Klaehn, Spiritual Care Services. “We assess how we can be supportive by making a connection to the source of spiritual strength.”

Klaehn said sometimes that leads to prayer, but sometimes it’s just about listening.

“It doesn’t matter the faith of the person, or if they have no faith,” she says. “We’re there to be with that person in the midst of health and emotional issues.”

Any patient or family member can ask for a consultation with a member of the Spiritual Care Services team. For those who are religious, the team has connections with various faiths and can arrange to have someone from a specific denomination come to hospital if there is a need for a priest, rabbi or other clergy that is not part of the Spiritual Care staff.

For hospital visitors and family members, there is a chapel and meditation room. There is also a small room with the Blessed Sacrament for Catholic devotion.

There are other ways to make a spiritual connection, without meeting one-on-one with a chaplain. Patients can access the Chapel Channel broadcast in their rooms.

Through the hospital’s Healing Arts program, visitors can enjoy live music from area musicians or take a minute to themselves outside of the hospital room to admire the professional artwork lining the hospital hallways. Klaehn said she is always looking for new ways to help find spiritual connections.

“We assess how we can be supportive by making a connection to the source of spiritual strength,” she said. “That is different for everyone.”

When Klaehn started her role as a TMC chaplain 22 years ago, things were more focused on faith-based visits.

“We’ve really changed the program to be more inclusive,” she explained.

Even the name changed, from pastoral care to spiritual care.

The team is educated on the customs and traditions of numerous cultures and religions, with the goal of being prepared to meet the needs of the diverse Tucson community.

The Rev. Gretchen Steffenson is the new manager of Spiritual Care Services in the summer of 2024. Klaehn said Steffenson will continue to look for new ways to expand the program.

“It’s been shown that spiritual care can boost the patient experience,” she said. “So we’ll keep looking for ways to make the program more inclusive.”

Patients aren’t the only ones that need support. The medical team looks to Spiritual Care Services after the loss of a patient or a loved one.

“We are all in this together, and you don’t know what the day will bring,” Klaehn explains. “I try to provide that strength and be a shoulder to cry on.”

As for keeping herself prepared for whatever the day will bring, Klaehn said she finds renewal in prayer, conversation and her four-legged family members.

“The chaplains talk to each other and I do a lot of nonverbal praying to myself,” she said. “And taking my two dogs for a walk in the evening helps too.”