Archdiocese of Denver
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Hospice and Nursing Care Ministry
W
hen advice, care and recommendations
are needed around hospice, the deacon
can help with the journey no matter which
hospice agency is chosen. The deacon works
to make sure a patient is offered and receives
Catholic services if desired, and that their
Catholic faith is honored. Making sure the
whole person is cared for, medical, spiritual,
emotional, social/family, & financial issues are
addressed. If you need advice on what hos-
pice is, what it provides, and what is covered,
or which of the 40 Colorado hospice agencies
to choose, please reach out to the Hospice
and Nursing Centers Ministry. The deacon in
charge of this ministry can also share which
agencies support/enable physician assisted
suicide.
i
Deacon Alan Rastrelli
intensivecaringdeacondoc@outlook.com
Medical Advisors Ministry
D
eacons who are medical doctors are avail-
able to clergy with questions regarding
beginning and end of life issues. Specifically,
these issues may be related to Natural Family
Planning, infertility, or contraception. End of
life issues involve advance directives, hospice
and palliative care, ordinary and extraordinary
treatments, pain control, or withdrawing life
support. As experts in both Catholicism and
medicine, the deacons are available to speak
at parishes about beginning and end of life is-
sues and how they relate to church teachings.
With permission they provide second opinions
and provide information in lay person terms
for patients and their families.
They give referrals as to facilities that might
be best for the patient's situation, and have,
when requested, testified at Congressional
hearings. They provide a loving and comforting
presence.
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Deacon John Volk
deacon.john@stmarygreeley.org
Deacon Alan Rastrelli
intensivecaringdeacondoc@outlook.com
Medical Advisory Ministries
