Contact Fred Hutch Spiritual Health
Phone: 206.606.1099
Spiritual Health clinicians at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center provide respectful, spiritual and emotional care to people of all faiths and spiritualities, including those who identify themselves as nonreligious or nonspiritual. We will talk with you in a supportive and inquiring manner, rather than impose a perspective on you. Your nurse, social worker or another care team member can connect you with us.
Spiritual Health care, which includes spiritual, religious, emotional and existential care, is available at any stage of your treatment process when receiving care at the South Lake Union Clinic, UW Medical Center – Montlake and Fred Hutch community clinic locations.
We are committed to responding to every referral in a timely manner and making follow-up visits with patients and family members on a regular basis. We rely upon patients, families, friends and faith communities to let us know about someone who would benefit from meeting with a Spiritual Health clinician. A member of your care team may also refer you to us.
Illness can be a painful, frightening, and isolating experience full of uncertainties and loss. Sometimes illness can push one to the point of experiencing spiritual and emotional chaos, pain and distress. But it can also be an opportunity to celebrate, change and experience expressions of being cared for in new ways.
In addition to the resources our Spiritual Health staff have to offer patients and their families, there is also a Sanctuary available to people of all faiths and spiritualities at the South Lake Union clinic.
The Sanctuary is open for quiet time, prayer, meditation and reflection that can be vital to well-being and wholeness. It is located on the third floor of Building 1 at the South Lake Union Clinic.
The Sanctuary is also a place of retreat, or a refuge for those who are hurting, while actions are being taken to help bring healing.
As a sacred space, the Sanctuary is a place where patients, families and staff can feel more connected to themselves, their traditions or the source of their spirituality. The Sanctuary is a shared space where everyone should respect the space and one another.
A Book of Prayers is located on the round common table where you can write prayers or prayer requests, knowing that others will read what is written and join you in prayer.
You may take a blessing from a blessing bowl in the Sanctuary. Different blessings are written on small colorful pieces of paper.
Varied spiritual resources are available for use by patients, families, and staff. These include sacred texts from diverse faith traditions, CareNotes, prayer rugs, a meditation pillow and Shabbat candles. etc.
There are no regular organized worship and meditation services in the Sanctuary. Occasional services are held in the Sanctuary.
Responding to the questions in this self-assessment can be helpful as a private exercise or an exploration with others as you reflect on your life and your beliefs. We want to be respectful of you. As you use this tool, you may want to substitute different terms more suitable to your tradition and beliefs. If you would like to explore with someone else, you are invited to contact Spiritual Health. You can reach us at 206.606.1099 or spiritualhealth@fredhutch.org.
Spiritual Health is staffed with board-certified chaplains. This means that we are accountable to Fred Hutch, to a national certifying body and to a particular faith tradition. Minimal requirements are a professional master’s degree in spiritual studies, one year of full-time clinical education in a health care setting, and endorsement by a faith group. We follow a code of ethics that requires respectful care for all people.