The Joint Commission on Accreditation
of Healthcare Organizations, or JCAHO for short, acknowledges that this type of care is very important and has made it mandatory
for hospitals to have some form of spiritual or holistic care available for their patients.
“JCAHO recommends that health care organizations (1) acknowledge patients right to spiritual care and (2) provide
for these needs through pastoral care and a diversity of services that may be offered by certified, ordained, or lay officials.”
JCAHO who sets the standard for
care and annually visits healthcare facilities states that there are five focus points to asses for a patients spiritual needs;
capacity, search, doing, experience, and evil. The following is a small breakdown of each focus point:
