Memorial Hospital Protestant Chaplaincy
Morristown Memorial Hospital, 100 Madison Avenue,
P.O. Box 1956, Morristown, NJ 07962-1956
Department of Pastoral Care
Phone: (973) 971-5818

Chaplain: Rev. Kay Locke


Description of Programs

This ministry provides experienced pastors who have special gifts and training in helping people to discover their inner faith resources in dealing with illness and death and the stress or crisis that may accompany them. Chaplains work closely with physicians, nurses, and other health care staff to assure that pastoral care is integrated with the rest of their health care. The voice of pastoral care is heard in patient care rounds, and various committees in the hospital. Chaplains also minister to an often overworked staff.

This chaplaincy program augments the work of our own church’s Pastors and Board of Deacons by visiting patients who have no relationship to local churches. In addition, our church is contacted by chaplaincy volunteers when members of our congregation are hospitalized so that pastoral calls can be made.

How the ministry has helped people in need

A trucker stepped out of his cab to check his rig while parked along I-287 near Boonton early one morning. A dozing driver lost control, plowed into the parked rig, striking the trucker. The man was taken to the Intensive Care Unit with multiple internal injuries. The chaplain was there to assist in contacting family members. By the time they arrived the man was pronounced brain dead with no hope for recovery. An anguished family was shepherded through a journey of shock and grief as the chaplain and staff discussed end-of-life decisions and the poignant issues surrounding organ/tissue donations.

A committed churchwoman from Mississippi was referred to Morristown Memorial Hospital for an experimental treatment for her life threatening disease. Her husband was permitted to sleep in the room on a cot. What they expected to be a brief procedure, turned into a prolonged stay. Far from home and their network of religious support, they received regular spiritual care from the chaplains in this ministry.