When one is sick in the hospital, we know that doctors and nurses are important caregivers that people depend on. Beyond that though, patients’ mental and spiritual care also is a huge factor while in a medical setting. Recently, a local pastor has been working to grow that type of care as he works to become a certified hospital chaplain.
Jason Semans is currently the pastor of Wright Christian Reformed Church south of Kanawha. He has been in that position for the last five years. Semans is originally from mid-Michigan and went into the army right out of high school. During his time of service, he acted as a chaplain assistant. He says he learned a lot about being a chaplain during that time.
After his time in the army, Semans became more involved in his faith. He explained that he had actually felt a call to the ministry at age 12. Throughout the early 2000s, he completed his bachelor's degree at Ferris State University and he attended Western Theological Seminary for his Masters. After seven years of dedicated study, Semans became the pastor of his first church in Holland, Michigan in 2008.
Fast forward a few years to Semans’ time in Iowa. He reiterates that he loves serving the faith community at Wright Christian Reformed Church. On top of that, he still felt a call to serve God and people in need in other ways. Seman’s wife Karin is a nurse in the OB department at Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics in Clarion. After speaking to her and other hospital personnel, Semans recognized that a need for a hospital chaplain existed locally.
Semans explained, “I had been wanting to get clinical pastoral experience.” Thanks to online options, the opportunity to pursue Clinical Pastoral Education became a reality in the last few years. Semans started to work through the program offered by the Institute of Clinical Pastoral Training. A hospital chaplain is an accredited position that requires both study and clinical hours. Semans noted that he must complete four 12-week units and 300 applied learning hours for each unit throughout his training.
The past few months, he has been working at Iowa Specialty Hospitals in Clarion and Belmond. His time at ISH functions as his chaplain internship. He said, at first, the hospital didn’t really know what to do with him as they have not really had a chaplain before. Yet, the organization realized this is an important resource to be able to offer.
ISH doctor, Mike Whitters, is one of the people who encouraged hospital management to allow for this opportunity. “Being able to look after the spiritual dimension of people’s health is also important,” Whitters noted. “Having a chaplain wouldn’t mean taking over the place of local clergy and faith leaders, but we get people at ISH from all over and they are often looking for comfort or someone to pray with them.”
Though Semans is just getting situated at ISH, he is enjoying the work. He emphasized that a chaplain’s duties are incredibly varied. Of course, he handles areas like grief counseling and end of life care, but he also helps patients and families with things like HIPAA compliance, patients’ rights, cultural sensitivity and acts as a liaison between the staff and family. “It’s really about being present and establishing a connection with people. As a chaplain, I’m just a different kind a presence from the doctors and nurses, and that can help people relax,” he said. He added that he can also help hospital staff with difficult situations and trauma.
Dr. Whitters is looking forward to Semans getting the chaplaincy off the ground. “I think it could be a wonderful thing for our hospital to have a formal program,” said Whitters. “This is just another opportunity to make people feel better in another way.”
As he looks forward, Semans hopes to continue working with patients and staff at ISH and other places he may be needed throughout the surrounding communities. He also hopes to establish more set hours in both Belmond and Clarion.
After finishing his education and clinical hours and gaining his certification, Semans would be a hirable asset at a hospital or other medical or healthcare facility. Though he’s not sure about his next steps yet, he knows he enjoys the hospital setting and looks forward to exploring those types of opportunities further.
