Partnering with Congregations to Address Social Connection and Coherence 
Presenters: Jay Foster, DMin, BCC, ACPE Certified Educator, Vice President of Spiritual Care, Chaplaincy Services and Congregational Partnerships, Indiana University Health System; Shadreck Kamwendo, MBA, Director of Community Outreach and Engagement, Spiritual Care, Indiana University Health System; Anastasia Holman, MDiv, MBA, BCC, ACPE Certified Educator, Director of Chaplaincy Education, Spiritual Care, Indiana University Health System; Deanna R. Willis, MD, MBA, Indiana University School of Medicine, Professor of Primary Care and Population Health Research in the Department of Family Medicine and
Interim Chair of Family Medicine. The panel will also include one of the local pastors and lead connectors serving as committed partners of the Congregational Care Network. 

This plenary will explore the opportunities and challenges of a health system partnering with congregations to address issues of spiritual care for that health system’s patients, and the broader community. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy references studies that social isolation and loneliness has the same negative impact on our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Apropos to the conference theme, he writes “social connection stands out as a largely unrecognized and underappreciated force for addressing many of the problems we’re dealing with, both as individuals and as a society.” IU Health’s Congregational Care Network partners with IU Health Physicians, Care Coordinators, Community Health Workers and Chaplains to connect older patients facing a chronic illness with a congregational volunteer, called a “connector,” who offers companionship for a period of twelve weeks. Connectors receive education and support from our chaplaincy team in spiritual care, and guidance from our CCN licensed clinical social worker on community needs and behavioral health resourcing.