UCSF Spiritual Care Services offers “Well Wishes” to Staff and Faculty!

Chaplain Resident and International Student at UCSF Claudine Niwemuhoza provides emotional and spiritual support to patients and their loved ones – in person and remotely – during this time of COVID-19. In the past few months, she noticed an uptick in the levels of stress and grief experienced by staff and providers. Says Claudine, “I have enjoyed the privilege of spending more of my shifts supporting our colleagues, giving them a chance to debrief what was causing them stress, and supporting them in resilience and self-care practices.”

Coping with COVID-19, confronting the pandemic of racist violence, economic distress and associated stressors in addition to their already intense clinical responsibilities, led staff to draw upon Claudine’s compassionate presence and care.

Inspiration struck Claudine this month, when she created a way to offer even more encouragement to staff and providers. With the support of Spiritual Care colleagues, Claudine created “Well Wishes” cards for staff to take with them, as they enter the medical center each day and night. Each card offers a special intention for peace, connectedness, and self-care for the day. Claudine is coordinating with Guest Screening to provide these reminders of care and concern for our amazingly dedicated and hard-working teams.

We think you’ll agree Claudine is truly a gift to our UCSF enterprise. UCSF staff and faculty can look for your “Well Wishes” card at each Staff Screening entrance at Mission Bay, Mount Zion, and Parnassus inpatient areas!