The Center for Spirituality and Health Care Education
by Dr. Richard Morgan

            The Center for Spirituality and Health Care Education is an initiative of the School of Social Welfare that is intended to serve as a resource for social workers and other health care professionals who seek to understand the impact that spirituality has on the lives of the people they serve.  Spirituality has become the subject of much attention in the profession due to the growing recognition that health and social outcomes are dependent on the subjective reality of clients and that a spiritual “world view” is often at the core of how many people interpret and respond to the events that occur in their lives.  As such, social workers need to be as aware of the importance of spirituality on the lives of their clients as they would be of the impact of cultural differences.  According to its mission statement, the Center is dedicated to providing “education, information and inspiration to promote spiritual sensitivity, understanding and respect for individuals, communities and their paths of spirituality.”  Dean Frances Brisbane appointed Rev. Dr. Gloria Elena Adams and Dr. Richard H. Morgan to serve as co-directors of the Center.  On September 29th of this year the Center will hold its second conference on spirituality and health care at the Student Activities Center.   Dr. Harold Koenig of Duke University will give the keynote entitled: Religion, Spirituality and Health: Research and Clinical Applications.   For more information, contact Dr. Adams at 631-444-3676 or Dr. Morgan at 631-444-6926.