For some hospital patients, healing takes more than the latest medical treatment or wonder drug.

“There are times when a patient's spiritual issues need to be addressed,” said Dr. Kathy Selvaggi, director of the palliative care program for the Butler Health System. “Chaplaincy is an important part of our team.”

Cheryl Ramsey, manager of hospitality services at Butler Memorial Hospital, said, “A patient says during registration if they wish to see clergy or not. If they don't have a specific person, they meet with an on-call chaplain.”

Ramsey said, “We don't have a paid chaplain. All our chaplains are volunteer.

“Clergymen need a security badge and they have to fill out a form,” said Ramsey.

“Chaplains come and go, and lay people come and go. We do keep records on them all, ”said Ramsey.

The Rev. Mike Brown, a retired Anglican pastor who moved to Butler in 2015, said, “I am one of a handful to chaplains who cover people of other religions.”

The hospital chaplains meet with patients and doctors, nurses and staff members in rooms, corridors and the hospital chapel, a quiet room tucked away off the Tower Lobby.

Ramsey said, “It's really a place for patients and family members to provide comfort and a place to go for privacy.

“It's sporadic, but it does get used,” said Ramsey.

The Rev. Nick Argentieri, a Roman Catholic priest and administrator of the St. Andrew Parish in Center Township, has been the Catholic chaplain at the hospital since 2013 when he was assigned the duty by Bishop David Zubik of the Pittsburgh Diocese.

Brown didn't have the edict of a bishop to become a hospital chaplain, but he did have the time and the desire to help.

He and his wife moved to Butler from Virginia when he retired to be closer to family.

“I basically made a phone call to Cheryl. I was looking for things to do in retirement. I've also be working with the palliative team,” he said.

Argentieri said he visits parishioners and others at least three days a week.

“I visit patients in the psych unit and the drug and alcohol units,” he said. “And I visit patients that want Catholic clergy but don't have a church.”

“And of course, I'm available for emergencies if a patient is passing and they want to see a priest,” he said.

Argentieri said, for fellow Catholics, “I can also offer the sacraments of the church: Holy Communion, Reconciliation, Anointing the Sick.”

Brown said he is on call Tuesdays and Thursdays.

He said he spends much time in the palliative program which can include hospice patients and the chronically ill.

The palliative program is specialized care, focused on improving the quality of life for patients with serious illnesses.

Patients include those with pneumonia, cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an inflammatory lung disease that obstructs airflow from the lungs.

What's often forgotten, said Brown is “both patients and families need attention. Family members are wrestling with a lot of emotions.”

Argentieri said. “I spend a lot of time with the family and also offer prayers for all the caregivers.”

“It's geared toward encouraging them, strengthening them, actually letting them know they are not alone, God is with them in his compassion,” Argentieri said of his chaplaincy.

“I'm blessed that the hospital staff is so supportive,” Argentieri said. Brown said while he's taken some clinical pastoral classes being a chaplain “a lot of it is just experience over time.

Brown said, “Chaplaincy is a pure pastoral ministry and engages a unique skill set that is interpersonal and deeply spiritual.”

It helped, Brown said, that he was a Navy chaplain for many years.