When you are admitted to a Hospital
When you or a loved one are admitted to a hospital it is only natural that your first
concern is your physical health. Your parish staff at Christ the King and the pastoral staff at
St. Vincent Hospital guided by faith and trust in the Lord's divine providence believe you
cannot heal the whole person without caring for his/her soul. Because illness affects our
lives in profound and unexpected ways, Christ the King parish aided by the chaplains at St.
Vincent Hospital (and chaplains at other area hospitals) cares for the spiritual and
sacramental needs of all our hospitalized parishioners, every hour every day.
Visits from Your Parish
When you are sick, visits especially from your priest or someone in your parish can be
very meaningful and supportive. We at Christ the King want to be able to visit you, but for
your protection and privacy, the Health Insurance Portability and accountability Act (HIPAA)
mandates that you control personal information to groups outside the hospital. Please help
the hospital inform Christ the king and respect the law by following these steps when you
or a loved one is admitted to the hospital:
> Identity your parish
Let the admitting clerk know you want to have Christ the king Parish identification
number listed in your medical record.
> Consider HIPAA
If you invoke HIPAA privacy in regard to religion, the hospital is bound not to inform
anyone from Christ the King that you are hospitalized.
> Notify Christ the King
If you would like your parish to know you are in the hospital, please inform the parish
before going to the hospital or, once hospitalized, ask your nurse to notify Christ the
King Church or have the hospital chaplain do so.
Spiritual Care from St. Vincent Hospital **
> Round-the -clock Care
A priest is always available, day or night, for your spiritual and sacramental needs.
> Daily Mass & Holy Communion
Our Lady of Providence Chapel, located on the South side, and Sundays at 7:30AM
and 4PM on Level One, is open 24 hours a day for your convenience. Mass is offered
every week day (Monday-Friday) at noon and on Saturdays at 4PM and Sundays at
7:30AM and 4PM. Mass is broadcast to the patient rooms on Channel 8 on closed
circuit TV. If you want to receive Holy Communion in your room, ask your nurse.
Holy Communion is distributed each day beginning at 7AM.
> Chaplain Services
From outside the hospital, you can contact the Department of Pastoral Care at (508)
363-6246 while hospitalized at extension 26246 or ask your nurse to do so for you.
> Catholic Medico-Moral Advice
Whether you face the difficult decision to some proposed medical treatment or to
stop treatment that has already been started, Catholics are obligated to only receive
medical treatments that are ordinary, while extraordinary treatment may be refused
or seen as optional. To help you understand the difference, a priest with extensive
training in medical ethics from the Catholic perspective is a member of the chaplaincy
staff. He can be reached through the other chaplains or by calling the department
at the above extension or by dialing the seven-digit number from outside the
hospital.
** NOTE - other area hospitals do have some of these services as well.