Mainstreaming Spiritual Care in Healthcare

Join us for a discussion of our project Mainstreaming Spiritual Care in Healthcare Organizations, including our new working paper! The project, and this paper, discusses how healthcare executives can maximize their utilization of spiritual care providers to enhance workforce wellbeing, patient experience, and access to care.

We thank John Templeton Foundation for its support of this work and Transforming Chaplaincy for supporting this event.

Please register here.

Naana Adjei is a student in the Health Services Organization and Research PhD program at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). She holds a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and a master’s degree in public health with a specialization in health policy, planning and management, both from the University of Ghana. She has a certificate in Applied Epidemiology and Public Health Surveillance from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. Prior to her current position, she worked as a senior dietitian with the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Services, providing clinical nutrition care, community interventions, and preceptorship. She also worked in the field of community health (nutrition education and advocacy, consultancy) and volunteered with various organizations. She completed the renowned Hubert H. Humphrey fellowship program at VCU in 2023. Her research interests include social determinants of health, health disparities, the role of nutrition policy and food systems in population health, and the influence of healthcare organizational behaviour on patient outcomes.

Laura McClelland, PhD is an Associate Professor and PhD Program Director in the Department of Health Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has expertise in the areas of health administration, organizational behavior, leadership, and organization theory. Her research interests include—workplace compassion, employee well-being, and patient experience. Her research is published in leading health services and social science journals including Health Services Research, Medical Care, and Human Resource Management Review and cited in popular press outlets such as CNN and Kaiser Health News.

Dr. Kelsey White is an Assistant Professor and Chaplaincy Faculty Researcher for the Department of Patient Counseling in the College of Health Professions, Virginia Commonwealth University. She received her PhD in Public Health Sciences, concentration in Health Management and Systems Sciences, as well as a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation Sciences from the University of Louisville. Her research primarily focuses on the integration of chaplains within healthcare delivery systems and their impact on healthcare access and quality. She includes research areas such as the social determinants of health, cross-organizational collaboration, and population health among her favorites. Beyond health services research, She is a board-certified chaplain and member of the Association of Professional Chaplains.