Chaplain

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago provides superior pediatric care in a setting that offers the latest benefits and innovations in medical technology, research and family-friendly design. As the largest pediatric provider in the region with a 140-year legacy of excellence, kids and their families are at the center of all we do. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is ranked in all 10 specialties by the U.S. News & World Report.

Rotating Shift (United States of America)Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

General Summary: 

A chaplain is an integral member of the health care team and provides pastoral and spiritual services to patients, families, and staff. The core functions of pastoral care include: providing pastoral/spiritual care to assist patients and families in coping with illness or hospitalization; providing pastoral interventions and support in times of stress or crisis (new diagnosis, chronic illness or extended hospitalization, medical or family crisis, trauma, code, end-of-life issues, death); helping families address their needs for ritual and worship; and linking families with their own religious groups and spiritual traditions. A chaplain also educates staff regarding services and systems that addresses the importance of spiritual care in the context of a family’s healthcare experience and addresses spiritual needs as appropriate throughout the hospital.

Essential Job Functions:

• Collaborates to coordinate service delivery with families and appropriate team members across the continuum.
• Makes necessary referrals to other team members and/or community resources.
• Makes pastoral care rounds and visits in assigned clinical areas.
• Attends patient care rounds in assigned areas.
• Identifies, assesses, and responds to child/family needs; includes in this process (identification, assessment, response) age-specific developmental needs, psychosocial needs, cultural needs, and spiritual needs.
• Particularly focuses on the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and families. These needs may include but are not limited to: assistance in coping with illness, spiritual/religious resources; ritual/worship; communication with staff regarding spiritual/cultural needs and practices; support in times of special stress or crisis; grief support; and linkage with own religious group or spiritual tradition. Includes the planning and leading of worship or other special services, including memorial services, in the hospital and elsewhere.
• Develops relationships with families that are caring, trusting, reliable, and beneficial. Utilizes these relationships in providing appropriate spiritual care.
• Provides timely and effective intervention for patients and families in emergency/crisis situations such as codes, traumas, deterioration of patent’s health status, as well as other situations deemed emergent by the patient, family, or healthcare team.
• Offers emotional, spiritual, and grief support to the families of dying and deceased patients and assists these families with necessary hospital protocols.
• Documents in a thorough and timely manner in accordance with professional standards (see assessment/documentation policies).
• Communicates with members of the health care team, through formal and informal means of transmitting information, in order to provide optimal care of patients and families.
• Communicates through both conveying and responding to pertinent information. Informs health care team of the role of faith community and/or other factors impacting the spiritual and emotional status of a patient and family.
• Maintains relationships that facilitate teamwork and referrals. Serves as professional liaison with assigned teams.
• Advocates for and addresses the spiritual/psychosocial/developmental needs of the child and family throughout the continuum of care.
• Participates regularly in the health care team’s interdisciplinary rounds.
• Participates in the team's group problem-solving and program planning.
• Provides leadership for the team in the delivery of family services, particularly pastoral care.
• Advocates for the effective utilization of Family Services. Leads the team and other family service professionals in establishing family services goals for team care delivery.
• Recognizes that response to the customer and the changing environment may involve going beyond the confines of the traditional job description.
• Maintains an environment that reflects pride and ownership and shows a willingness to care for the surroundings.
• Creates an impression that reflects pride in job position and person.
• Administrative and project management duties, as assigned. May orient and supervise pastoral care volunteers. May precept pastoral care students.
• Maintains appropriate records and statistics. Participates in hospital-wide pastoral care intake system.
• Assists with hospital-wide, in-house pastoral care on-call system as needed. Maintains and enhances pastoral care community resource lists for staff use.
• Performs job functions adhering to service principles with customer service focus of innovation, service excellence and teamwork to provide the highest quality care and service to our patients, families, co-workers and others.
  Other job functions as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Master of Divinity or other graduate pastoral care or religion degree or equivalent from a school accredited by the Association of Theological schools or one of the regional Associations of Colleges and Schools; four quarters of clinical pastoral education or equivalent experience.
• Certification: Endorsement for ministry by religious group with which chaplain is affiliated (i.e., ordination, denominational endorsement); certification by professional chaplains' endorsing body (recognized by COMISS); either meets or is actively pursuing requirements for endorsement and certification.
• Job Related Experience: Pastoral care experience in acute care setting or with children and their families, or equivalent.
• Ability to think proactively, acts creatively, and takes initiative appropriately.
• Excellent communication, critical-thinking, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work as a part of multiple teams.
• Spanish language abilities and skills strongly preferred.

Education

Master's Degree: Theology (Required)

Pay Range

$24.00-$39.24 Hourly

At Lurie Children’s, we are committed to competitive and fair compensation aligned with market rates and internal equity, reflecting individual contributions, experience, and expertise. The pay range for this job indicates minimum and maximum targets for the position. Ranges are regularly reviewed to stay aligned with market conditions. In addition to base salary, Lurie Children’s offer a comprehensive rewards package that may include differentials for some hourly employees, leadership incentives for select roles, health and retirement benefits, and wellbeing programs. For more details on other compensation, consult your recruiter or click the following link to learn more about our benefits.

Benefit Statement

For full time and part time employees who work 20 or more hours per week we offer a generous benefits package that includes:

Medical, dental and vision insurance

Employer paid group term life and disability

Employer contribution toward Health Savings Account

Flexible Spending Accounts

Paid Time Off (PTO), Paid Holidays and Paid Parental Leave

403(b) with a 5% employer match

Various voluntary benefits:

• Supplemental Life, AD&D and Disability
• Critical Illness, Accident and Hospital Indemnity coverage
• Tuition assistance
• Student loan servicing and support
• Adoption benefits
• Backup Childcare and Eldercare
• Employee Assistance Program, and other specialized behavioral health services and resources for employees and family members
• Discount on services at Lurie Children’s facilities
• Discount purchasing program

There’s a Place for You with Us

At Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and its affiliates (collectively “Lurie Children’s”), we embrace and celebrate diversity and equity in a serious way. We are committed to building a team with a variety of backgrounds, skills, and viewpoints — recognizing that diverse identities strengthen our workplace and the care we can provide to the Chicago community and beyond. We treat everyone fairly, appreciate differences, and make meaningful connections that foster belonging and allyship. This is a place where you can be your best, so we can give our best to the patients and families who trust us with their care.  

Lurie Children’s and its affiliates are equal employment opportunity employers.  We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, pregnancy, protected veteran status, order of protection status, protected genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. 

For questions about how to request an accommodation please contact: [email protected]

AI Notice 

Lurie Children’s utilizes certain AI-enabled features within our recruiting platform to support candidate engagement and assist recruiters in identifying and prioritizing applicants whose experience aligns with job requirements. All employment decisions are made by individuals.

It is a civil rights violation with respect to recruitment, hiring, promotion, or employment for an employer to use artificial intelligence that has the effect of subjecting employees to discrimination on the basis of protected classes under the Illinois Human Rights Act or to use zip codes as a proxy for protected classes.

For questions about the use of artificial intelligence in this process or any additional support, please contact: [email protected]