VA Pacific Islands Health Care System

Chaplain Service

What We Do:

The mission of the VAPIHCS Chaplain Service is to:

• Ensure that Veteran patients (both inpatient and outpatient) receive appropriate clinical pastoral care as desired or requested by the Veteran;
• To ensure that hospital, domiciliary and nursing home patients’ constitutional right to free exercise of religion is protected. What this means is that it is the Veteran’s choice as to whether to meet with a chaplain or any religious person;
• To protect patients from having religion imposed on them;
• It is always the Veteran’s choice.

A meditation room is available at VA PIHCS and is located at the Center for Aging. Religious or spiritual literature will be provided to you at your request.

Chaplains have a variety of roles as a member of the clinical team responsible for your care.

Typical activities include:

Chaplain Supportive Spiritual Care:

• Grief and loss care
• Risk Screening to identify factors that may affect your recovery
• Facilitation of spiritual issues related to tissue/organ donation
• Communication with your caregivers
• Facilitation of staff communication
• Conflict resolution among staff members, patients and family members
• Referral and linkage to internal and external resources
• Assistance with decision making and communication
• Staff and Family Support

Chaplains are Members of a Patient Care Team:

• Participation in Medical Rounds and Patient Care Conferences
• Participation in Interdisciplinary Education
• Charting spiritual care interventions in medical charts

Chaplains Design and Lead Religious Ceremonies of Worship and Ritual:

• Prayer, meditation and reading of holy texts
• Worship and observance of holy days
• Blessings and Sacraments to include the Anointing of the Sick
• Memorial Services
• Holiday Observances

Chaplains Lead or Participate in Healthcare Ethics Programs:

• Assisting patients and families in completing Advance Directives
• Clarifying value issues with patients, family members and staff within the medical center
• Participating in Ethics Committees and Institutional Review Boards
• Consulting with Staff and Patients about ethical concerns
• Pointing to human value aspects of institutional policies and behaviors
• Conducting in-service education

Chaplains Educate the Healthcare Team and the Community on Religious & Spiritual Issues

• Interpreting and analyzing multi-faith and multi-cultural traditions as they impact clinical services
• Making presentations concerning spirituality and health issues
• Train community religious representatives regarding the institutional procedures for effective visitation
• Conducting professional clinical education programs for seminarians, clergy and religious leaders
• Develop congregational health ministries
• Educating students in the health care professions regarding the interface of religion and spirituality with medical care

Chaplains act as Mediators and Reconcilers for those who Need a Voice in the Healthcare System

• As advocates or “cultural brokers” between Institutions and patients, family members, and staff
• Clarifying and Interpreting institutional policies to patients, clergy and religious organizations
• Offering patients, family members and staff an emotionally and spiritually “safe” professional from whom they can seek counsel or guidance
• Representing community issues and concerns to the organization

Chaplains may Serve as Contact Persons to Arrange Assessment for the Appropriateness and Coordination of Complementary Therapies to include:

• Guided Imagery
• Relaxation Therapy
• Music Therapy
• Healing Touch

Chaplains and their Certifying Organizations Encourage and Support Research Activities to Assess the Effectiveness of Providing Spiritual Care

• Developing spiritual assessment and spiritual risk screening tools
• Developing tools for benchmarking productivity and staffing patterns that seek to increase patient and family satisfaction
• Conducting interdisciplinary research with investigators in allied fields publishing results in medical, psychological and chaplaincy journals
• Promoting research in spiritual care at national conventions

Meet our Team!

Lead and Staff Clinical Chaplain

Chaplain Mike-Antoinette McGruder is a staff and lead chaplain at VA PIHCS. Chaplain McGruder served in the U.S. army as a Quartermaster 92A and has been with the VHA system since 2013. Along with her day to day staff responsibilities, Chaplain McGruder provides training to clergy members, lay leaders, chaplains, and others so they can gain the knowledge and tools to become a refuge, resource, and referral point for Veterans and improve their access to care. She also provided Warrior 2 Soul Mate training to Veterans seeking to improve communication, deepen empathy, handle conflicts better, and ultimately restore the connection with their significant other/spouse. As a disabled Veteran, she is proud serve those who have borne the battle.

 Geriatric, Rehabilitative, and Extended Care Chaplain

Chaplain Richie Charles is the Palliative and Hospice Care chaplain which is located in the Center for Aging’s Community Living Center. He served in various ministerial roles, including Pastor in Okinawa, Japan where he provided pastoral care to members of the armed forces stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Chaplain Richie considers it a privilege to serve at the VA PIHCS and provide spiritual care and support to our nation’s Veterans.

 Chaplain (Roman Catholic)

Chaplain William Kunisch is a Roman Catholic Priest of the Diocese of Honolulu. Fr. Kunisch serves as Pastor of Resurrection of the Lord Catholic Church, Waipahu and as a contract chaplain for the VA Pacific Island Healthcare System. Fr. Kunisch previously served in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a chaplain and proudly continues to serve his country by giving back to those who proudly served in our nation’s armed forces.

 VA Community Clergy Training Program (CCTP)

The National VA Chaplain Center and VA Office of Rural Health (ORH) established the Community Clergy Training Program (CCTP) to educate rural faith communities to better identify and support rural Veterans with reintegration challenges. Through this ORH Enterprise-wide Initiative, clergy members, lay leaders, chaplains, and others can gain the knowledge and tools to become a refuge, resource, and referral point for Veterans and improve their access to care.

A trained VA Chaplain facilitator delivers training
events in rural communities across the Pacific Island health Care System.
Community clergy partners can bring the VA Chaplain to their local area for an
interactive training covering four major topics:

1. “Military Culture and Wounds of War”
2. “Pastoral Care with Veterans and their Families”
3. “Mental Health Services and Referrals,” and
4. “Building Community Partnerships”

The VA Chaplain leads and facilitates the training and provides training materials, at no cost to the community clergy partner.
Partners help secure a training space and recruit attendees. Read more about the Community Clergy Training to Support Rural Veterans Mental Health and how you can work with the VAPIHCS Chaplain Facilitator to deliver this valuable training in your community.

Be our Partner!
Call Chaplain Mike A. McGruder at 808-433-0271 or email her at mike.mcgruder@va.gov.

Watch the video* about CCTP training events held with clergy in central Western Massachusetts in the Fall of 2017 and learn more about partnering with us with us to bring this program to your rural community.

Warrior 2 Soul Mate Program

What We Do:

Warrior to Soul Mate (W2SM) is a program that:

•Aids in helping Warriors reconnect with their loved ones.
•Works to help significant others/spouses understand the emotional toll military service can take.
•Helps to restore the bond between soul mates.
•Teaches couples how to reclaim the love they once shared.
•Provides a plan for how to renew a life together.

Key Staff:

Program Manager

For more information concerning the W2SM program call (808) 433-0271.

Service Information:

Who is the Program for? Any Veteran seeking to improve communication, deepen empathy, handle conflicts better, and ultimately restore the connection with their significant other/spouse.

W2SM is offered in two formats: 

1. Retreats are delivered over a relaxed weekend that allows significant time for processing and connecting with family members and others who have shared similar experiences.
2. W2SM classes offer the same training with the same effectiveness, only it takes places over an extended period of time.

Visit our Events Calendar for upcoming retreats and class dates!