Building Resilience and Hope: Recognizing Spiritual Care During Spiritual Health Week

Spiritual Health Awareness Week is a time to highlight the importance of spiritual health to our overall wellbeing. Spiritual care is an important part of life at CapitalCare. Across CapitalCare spiritual care coordinators, volunteers and community partners help our residents and families to navigate meaning, purpose, belonging and hope.  

This year, CapitalCare welcomed two new Spiritual Care Coordinators who bring a new perspective and commitment to supporting residents’ emotional, spiritual and social well-being.  

For spiritual care coordinator Raymond Baker, the role is  a meaningful return working with seniors He now works at Grandview, Strathcona, and Lynnwood. Alongside him is Jorge Roberto, the Spiritual Coordinator for Kipnes Centre for Veterans and Dickinsfield, who completed a master's degree in Clinical Psychospiritual Education from St. Stephen's College at the University of Alberta. Together,  Raymond's years of experience paired with Jorge's fresh perspective, they are helping residents find comfort, connection, and a sense of belonging through CapitalCare's spiritual care program. 

For Jorge, spiritual care is centred on what he calls "caring for the spark." 

"Every person has inherent dignity and something within them that still needs to be seen, heard, and cared for, regardless of age, illness, or ability," said Jorge. 

"That spark is amazing," Raymond agrees. "It's hard to pin down exactly what spirituality is, but we look at people holistically." 

Raymond and a resident in a moment of prayer and laughter.

At its heart, CapitalCare's Spiritual Care program is about ensuring residents feel seen, valued, and supported. The program offers compassionate presence, emotional, and spiritual support, grief care, prayer, or rituals upon request, end-of-life support, and connections with faith communities or faith leaders.  

It is available to all residents, regardless of religious affliction. The program provides support and connection for anyone dealing with loneliness, navigating a major life transition, seeking meaning, coping with grief or simply needing someone to listen. 

For both coordinators, seemingly simple moments are often at the heart of spiritual care, helping residents feel connected and valued. 

Recently Jorge helped George, a resident in Kipnes And his daughter, who participated in the Legacy Writing Project. They sat together looking through photos while George shared memories of his life and his military service. He spoke about his experiences during the second World War, including the whirlwind romance of meeting his wife during the liberation of the Netherlands, bringing her to Canada, and raising seven children. 

Jorge and George during the Legacy Writing Project. 

Jorge helped to create a written document for George and his family, honoring his life story and giving George and his family a lasting gift of remembrance. 

This act of deep listening is the cornerstone of Jorge's approach. He distinguishes his work from a simple, friendly visit.  

"With spiritual care, we're attending to what is under the surface," he explains. " I want to get to the heart of who this person is, what matters to this individual. How do they identify what brings them hope? What do they look forward to?"  

Connection can be especially powerful for residents living with dementia. Jorge regularly hosts hymn sings, which can have a great impact. "It can be someone who says very few words during the day, and then when they hear a familiar hymn and suddenly, they're singing," he says.  

Recently at Dickinsfield, Jorge coordinated visits from a children's choir as they prepared for their annual Christmas concert. About every 10 days, the children come to sing, spend time with residents, participate in activities and ask questions about their lives.  

"Residents have really loved these interactions... it creates connection, joy, belonging, and opportunities for residents to share themselves with another generation," Jorge said. 

Raymond notes his hymn sings are often lively events, "There's a lot of action and dancing... I really try to engage people and bring out their energy." 

Jorge is particularly excited about a program he started called, "Restoring Purpose." He asks a resident to be a part of the welcoming committee bringing a welcome blanket to residents that are moving in. 

"It's a gift that we give to the new residents and we let them know, 'hey, we understand the transition may be difficult, but you're not alone in this process,'" Jorge explains. "I have a resident in particular. Her name is Fiona, and she does those visits with me, and she's so excited about it." 

Raymond stresses a unique relationship he has with the residents, one built on consistent, unhurried presence.  

"I'm kind of like a neighbor," Raymond says. "I feel like they're inviting me to join their community." 

No two days look exactly the same for a Spiritual Care Coordinator. Jorge helps to coordinate community partners who lead church services, prayer groups, Indigenous cultural events, and music programs. 

He also works closely with recreation staff and nurses, who help identify residents who may need extra support. "When a resident is in decline or at the end of life, that will take precedence over anything else," Jorge says. In those moments, spiritual care can take many forms. For some, it means arranging for clergy members to visit and provide familiar prayers, or rituals. For others, it may simply mean sitting quietly beside them, offering a compassionate presence during a difficult time. 

Raymond emphasizes that spiritual care is not limited to residents. "We're available to staff as well," he said. Especially during challenging times such as residents passing away.

Staff play an important role in noticing when someone may benefit from spiritual care. If a resident or family member expresses sadness, fear, anger, spiritual distress, grief, or a desire for prayer or meaningful conversation, staff can consult the spiritual care coordinator for support.  

Through all of these activities both coordinators agree that the heart of the role remains the same: helping people feel connected, cared for and valued. They are nurturing the spark in every resident, ensuring that they are able to live fully in their lives at CapitalCare.