 Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Spritual care
Our mission
To reach the
Spiritual Care office,
call 612-863-4370. Rooted in theological integrity and sacred traditions, we minister to the human condition to foster individual and corporate healing, meaning and hope. Spiritual care is an important part of the healing environment at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. Chaplains, Catholic Priests, and a Jewish liaison are part of the health care team. Spiritual care staff are available to all patients and their loved ones.
Our scope of practice
- Quality spiritual care: Responding to the deepest healing needs of patients and their loved ones through spiritual assessment, care and counseling in collaboration with health care staff.
- Clinical education for ministry: Developing competent, spiritually and ethically sensitive professionals in ministry, through the clinical education program.
- Leadership in ethics: Promoting values of a just and compassionate society with the hospital, health system and broader community.
How to reach a chaplain
Chaplains provide spiritual care on all patient care units.
They are in the hospital on weekdays and on-call at all times. Urgent requests should
be directed to a nurse who will contact the on-call chaplain. To request
a chaplain visit, please call (612) 863-4370
Also part of the Spiritual Care staff:
- Catholic priest: Available Sunday morning, Tuesday through Friday and other times for urgent requests. Catholic communion volunteers provide communion to catholic patients on Thursdays and Sundays.
- Jewish Rabbi: Available by contacting the Spiritual Care Department.
Spiritual care staff
To reach the
Spiritual Care office,
call 612-863-4370.
 Rev. Paula Bidle, M.Div
Board Certified Chaplain, Association of Professional Chaplains
Staff Chaplain, Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Email Chaplain Bidle
ph: 612-863-3423
Paula Bidle's lead responsibility at Abbott Northwestern is as chaplain with Neuro/Medical-Surgical Intensive Care. She grew up in Ohio, and received a BA
in Latin American Area Studies from the College of Wooster. She completed the M.Div. at Chicago Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1986 in the United Church of Christ. She served as a parish pastor on the northwest side of Chicago, director of the interfaith Chicago Sanctuary Movement and missionary in Chiapas, Mexico prior to moving to Minnesota. She and her husband George are the proud parents of two sons in their mid-twenties.
Rev. Ken Burg, M.Div
Staff Chaplain, Abbott Northwestern Hospital (Advanced Heart Failure Team)
Email Chaplain Burg
ph: 612-863-0323
 Rev. Denise Dunbar-Perkins, M.Div
Board Certified Chaplain, Association of Professional Chaplains
Staff Chaplain, Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Email Chaplain Dunbar-Perkins
ph: 612-863-9665
Denise is a Staff Chaplain at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in the Oncology/ Medical/Surgical units. She grew in Chicago, Illinois and received a B.A. in Biology at
University of Illinois at Springfield, a M.A.T. from the University of St. Thomas and an M.Div. at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities Area. She has been at Abbott since 2003, where she began her CPE training as both an intern and a resident. She is also a chaplain preceptor for CPE students along with being an adjunct facilitator/teacher for the program. She has served as chair of the Sickle Cell Disease Advocates of Minnesota (SCDAM) and is an adjunct professor at United Theological Seminary teaching on Black church culture and Womanist theology. She is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and resides in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband and is stepmother of three adult children and three granddaughters.
 Rev. Kimberly Goodman, M.Div
Board Certified Chaplain, Association of Professional Chaplains
Staff Chaplain, Abbott Northwestern Hospital
CPE Supervisor
Allina Clinical Pastoral Education
Email Chaplain Goodman
ph: 612-863-4881
Kim is a CPE Supervisor, CPE Program Coordinator, and Staff Chaplain at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. She has her B.A. from Concordia College, Moorhead and M.Div. from Luther Seminary in St. Paul. She did congregational internship in an Anglican church in the suburbs of London, England, and completed CPE residency at Abbott Northwestern. Kim is ordained in the Presbyterian Church, (U.S.A.) and is active in the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area. For the past eight years she has served as a staff chaplain at United Hospital with a focus on oncology, hospice and mental health. Kim lives in south Minneapolis with her husband and two children where she is active in neighborhood revitalization, house restoration, and community livability.
 Rev. Dr. Judith Roska, M.Div., D.Min
Staff Chaplain, Abbott Northwestern Hospital
CPE Supervisor
Allina Clinical Pastoral Education
Email Chaplain Roska
ph: 612-863-4916
Judith is a CPE supervisor and chaplain at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. She grew up near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated from the University of Colorado. She received an M.A. in counseling from Gonzaga University, an M.Div. at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, and a D.Min. from the Claremont School of Theology in Southern California. Her CP E training included a residency at the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinics and supervisory training in Southern California. She began at Abbott in 2004, after fourteen years of ministry in Southern California where she served as a Congregational parish minister in Pomona, and launched a spiritual care and CPE program at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center as the first Supervisor of Pastoral Care. She is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and is the mother of an adult son.
 Matthew Verkuilen, B.A., Business Management
Administrative Coordinator
Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Allina Clinical Pastoral Education
Email Matthew Verkuilen
ph: 612-863-6761
Matthew is the Administrative Coordinator for the Allina Metro Spiritual Care and Pastoral Education Department and is based out of Abbott Northwestern Hospital. Born and raised in the Twin Cities, he recently graduated with his degree in Business Management from Bethel University in St. Paul, MN. He is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, is married and has one daughter. He has been with the department since 2006.
 John Miles, M.Div.
Chaplain Resident, Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Email Chaplain Miles
ph: 612-863-1496
Bio coming soon!
Chris Nilges, M.Div. Chaplain Resident, Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Email Chaplain Nilges
ph: 612-863-1480
Bio coming soon!
Spiritual care services
Chaplains are available to patients and their loved ones for support, comfort, guidance and advocacy. They respect all religious or spiritual preferences and collaborate with hospital staff to give patients the best care possible including:
- attending to the spiritual and emotional well-being of patients and their loved ones
- listening and assisting in making meaning of their health care experience
- providing spiritual guidance, devotions, rituals and sacraments
- offering compassion and counseling in the midst of injury, illness and frightening life changes
- contacting places of worship and clergy or other spiritual leaders
- consulting on ethical issues and health care decisions
- providing spiritual and emotional support for hospital staff.
Spiritual care resources
To reach the
Spiritual Care office,
call 612-863-4370. The Ewe Memorial Chapel: The interfaith chapel is always
open for prayer and meditation. It is located on the first floor of the hospital
near the main lobby. Prayer request cards are available and read each day.
The following are also available in the Chapel: - Morning Meditation and Prayer, 8:00-8:20 a.m., Monday - Friday
- Catholic mass, 11:30 a.m. Sundays
Televised services: The Catholic mass is televised on Channel 3 and available for viewing in patient rooms. Devotional resources: Sabbath and Hanukkah candles, prayer books, Bibles, the Qur’an, Buddhist and Native American materials are available in the chapel and other resources on request. To request these items, contact the Spiritual Care office at 612-863-4370. Arrangements can also be made through this office for special services in the chapel or in patient rooms.
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Rev. Dr. Verlyn Hemmen