Founded in 1939, HCMA is a nonsectarian, non-profit faith mission organization that recruits, trains, certifies, places, and oversees professional Chaplains in healthcare facilities and hospice programs throughout the world. HCMA is a growing agency sought out by both independent facilities and healthcare corporations.
Hospitals, Hospice and Skilled Nursing Facilities benefit from having a certified HCMA Chaplain on staff. HCMA invites Healthcare Administrators to learn about having a competent and compassionate HCMA Chaplain serve as a member of the staff team.
HCMA is a member of the Commission on Ministry in Specialized Settings (COMISS) Network as a professional pastoral care and certification organization.
The Joint Commission has always recognized HCMA Chaplains as one example of how their standard for pastoral care services can be met in healthcare facilities and programs. In the 1998 publication of the Source (a publication of the JCAHO), it cited an example for HR.2 as:
“chaplain, qualified—An individual who is certified and in good standing with a pastoral care cognate group recognized by the Coalition on Ministry in Specialized Settings/Joint Commission on Accreditation of Pastoral Services (COMISS/JCAPS); or who is certified and in good standing with other chaplain certifying agencies such as the Hospital Chaplains’ Ministry of America (HCMA)1 ; or who has the documented equivalent in education, training and experience, with evidence of relevant continuing education.”
—————————————————-
1 HCMA was incorporated as the Healthcare Chaplains’ Ministry of America, Inc. in 1957 and does business as the Healthcare Chaplains Ministry Association since 2008.
