Spiritual Support: Team
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The pastoral care team at Eastern
The Department of Pastoral Care consists of two full-time chaplains, two part-time chaplains, and six on-call chaplains.
Rev. Michael S. Barry serves as Director of Pastoral Care at CTCA at Eastern Regional Medical Center. Rev. Barry earned a Doctor of Ministry degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. He also studied at Princeton University. Throughout his 15-year ministry, Rev. Barry has conducted numerous radio and television interviews around the country and has authored several books on spirituality and illness, including A Reason for Hope, A Season for Hope, and The Art of Caregiving.
Other members of the pastoral care team include Chaplain Robin Childs, a Roman Catholic priest and nun, as well as pastors of Baptist, Hispanic, and non-denomination churches. If you would like to see someone from another faith affiliation, Rev. Barry can also contact local clergy for you as well.
Collaboration among your care team
The pastoral care team meets several times a week to discuss your needs. Your chaplain will also consult regularly with other members of your care team, including your other complementary medicine clinicians, to find ways to support you.
Rev. Barry uses a flower metaphor to discuss the importance of an integrated approach to cancer care: “Western medicine treats the flower with chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. We think that if you want a person to flourish, you also need to take care of the soil. This is where the complementary medicine part of it comes in.”
In addition, just as your mind-body therapist strives to help relieve your stress, so does the pastoral care team. “What makes the soil of our life most toxic and not conducive to human flourishing is stress. The Mind-Body Medicine Department deals with emotional management issues from a secular standpoint. We deal with emotion management issues from a religious standpoint,” says Rev. Barry.
