We know that being hospitalized is not just a physical experience. Illness affects your life and your family, and may cause you to reflect on your values, beliefs and goals.
At Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, our Spiritual Care department has professionally trained chaplains who are able to provide emotional and spiritual support to you, regardless of your faith, culture or spiritual tradition. We are available to simply listen, or offer a prayer or blessing, if requested.
For family members and friends, we offer a beautiful Chapel and Spiritual Center located on the second floor of the Anderson Lucchetti Hospital. These spaces are designed to welcome persons of all spiritual traditions. Additionally, as part of our Spiritual Care Services, we have created a downloadable Bereavement Brochure to help you cope with the pain of loss.
Rev. Kate Kennedy is an ACPE Certified Educator and a Board-Certified chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). She is the CPE Coordinator for the Spiritual Care Services Department. Kate completed her undergraduate degree at Villanova University and received her Master of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, CA. She is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister with fifteen years of chaplaincy experience in several healthcare contexts, including her Residency at John Muir Health in Concord, and as a chaplain and educator with VITAS Hospice, Stanford Health Care, and Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento. Kate serves as Co-Chair of the Inclusion Council for Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento and is a core team member of the Multicultural Inclusion Resource Group for Sutter Health.
Rev. Paul McNamee is a Board Certified chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains. He is a Roman Catholic priest having been ordained in Ireland. He received his Master of Theology degree from St Patrick’s Pontifical College. He has 25 years of pastoral experience as a priest in Ireland. Paul completed a residency year in Clinical Pastoral Education at University of California, San Francisco Medical Center after which he was employed at UCSF as an Emergency Department Chaplain. He moved to Sacramento in 2012 to take up his present position as a chaplain at SMCS. As a member of the Palliative Care team, he provides spiritual care to adult palliative care patients, as well as meeting the Sacramental needs of Catholic patients throughout the hospital.
Rev. Susan Cosio is a Board Certified chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains and is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church. She received her Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Seminary with additional training at North Park Seminary. Susan completed two years of Clinical Pastoral Education with SMCS in 2009, and was hired as one of our permanent staff. She has additional training in Palliative Care, and serves as one of our palliative care chaplains. Her primary area of responsibility is our Women’s and Children Center, particularly our pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care patients. She is a member of the medical center's Central Partnership Council, Evidence-Based Council, Fetal Therapy Board and the Palliative Care Team. She is also a frequent presenter within the hospital and in the larger community on many spiritual care subjects.
Rev. Benjamin Curry is a Board Certified chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains and an ordained Baptist minister endorsed by the Alliance of Baptists. He received his Master of Divinity degree from McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta, GA. Ben completed his clinical training at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta,, Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth, and Sutter Roseville Medical Center. In 2012, he began his career with Sutter Health and has served as chaplain with Palliative Care teams at Sutter Roseville Medical Center, Sutter Davis Hospital and Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital. In 2018, Ben joined the spiritual care team at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, where his primary clinical responsibilities are the adult Intensive Care Units.
Tamara Bahlhorn is an Endorsed Episcopalian chaplain and the mental health chaplain at Sutter Center for Psychiatry. She has a Masters degree in Psychology from Cappella University, and she is also certified in Television and Radio Broadcasting. She completed two years in Clinical Pastoral Education at the University of California Davis Medical Center, then worked as a chaplain for five years at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento. During her first year with Sutter Health in 2016, she worked as the Palliative Care chaplain at Sutter Davis Hospital along with her position at Sutter Center for Psychiatry. Presently, Tamara is the sole chaplain at SCP. She has had extensive training in Suicide Prevention and is one of the Sutter Health ASSIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) educators.