About Us
CHRISTUS Spohn spiritual care department —
Our History
The CPE Program at CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi, Memorial has a long history. After the hiring of the first Director of Pastoral Care in 1971 a CPE program was established and accredited in 1973. Under Rev. Medicus Rentz the CPE program quickly grew and offered many local clergy and laypersons opportunity to deepen their pastoral care skills.
After almost 30 years Rev. Rentz retired and a number of supervisors supported the program. Between 1998-2004 about 40 students participated in numerous units of CPE. In 2004 the program went into a phase of restructuring which culminated in hiring a consultant supervisor who became the Director of Spiritual Care in 2005, Rev. Mike Saxton. Under his leadership the CPE program began to flourish.
The demand for CPE became so strong that he hired a contract supervisor, Rev. Michael Doane, to conduct several units of Extended CPE. In March of 2008 Rev. Mirjam Berger joined the department as the manager of CPE. In 2007 and 2008, 23 students were supervised by these three supervisors in 6 units of CPE. In September of 2008 the CPE Residency was re-established with 5 CPE Residents. The CPE center also was granted accreditation by the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE, inc.) to conduct Supervisory Education for CPE in 2008. In 2009 Rev. Michael Doane became the Executive Director for Spiritual and Palliative Care for the CHRISTUS Spohn Health System. The CPE program at CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi~Memorial is accredited by ACPE, inc. until 2010 when the 10 year re-accreditation process will take place. The CPE program at CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi, Memorial is accredited by ACPE, inc. until 2010 when the 10 year re-accreditation process will take place.
