Our mission is to facilitate a person's ability to identify and express spiritual concerns; to maintain hope and celebrate in the midst of pain and suffering; to reflect on matters of faith, such as prayer and ritual; and to reframe the notion of healing to include the ability to find solace, comfort, connection, meaning and purpose in the face of illness and/or spiritual distress.
Our team of staff chaplains and volunteers offers compassionate care for patients, families and staff. In addition to providing for specific religious needs, we are clinically trained to offer supportive counseling and coping mechanisms to navigate the challenges one may face during times of illness and hospitalization. We serve people of all faiths.
Our services
- Daily rounding on all hospital units, as well as the Center for Cancer Care
- Collaboration with interdepartmental professionals
- Offering:
- Prayer
- Sacraments
- Sabbath ritual items
- Prayer mats
- Services:
- Roman Catholic Mass Sundays and Holy Days
- Jewish Shabbat Services; High Holy Days and Passover Seder
- Jummah Prayer
- Hindu Prayer Service
- Ramadan hospitality
Meditation room and chapel
Our interfaith Meditation Room offers a tranquil and private area for prayer, reflection and meditation. It is always open for patients, family and staff. It is located on the fifth floor of the hospital on the I Wing (Room 529).
Prayer books, prayer rugs and bibles are available and may be used in the room. There is a prayer intention book in which one may leave prayer requests. The Meditation Room also has complimentary inspirational pamphlets and ritual items.
Pastoral care staff
The Rev. Richard P. Limato, Director of Pastoral Care and Education, is an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. As a former teacher and elementary school administrator, he enjoys teaching ethics and spiritual & cultural awareness at the end of life to nurses. He finds supporting the chaplains on staff and visiting patients and their families of all spiritual expressions the most rewarding part of his work.
An avid reader, Deacon Richard enjoys reading nonfiction, watching independent films, listening to music, attending theater on and off Broadway, travelling, binge watching Law and Order and spending time with his family. He welcomes all to call upon the services of the pastoral care department.
rlimato@wphospital.org
914.681.2395, option 3
Rev. Father Damian Ekete was ordained a Catholic priest in his home country of Nigeria. In addition to his native language, Igbo, he speaks English. Studying in Africa and in the United States has given Father Damian a deep appreciation of the intercultural dimensions of learning in a changing world as well as a grateful respect for the beauty of different cultures and religious traditions Although his chaplaincy is specifically to serve our Catholic population, he enjoys ministering and providing spiritual care to people of different beliefs and expressions.
For leisure, Father Damian enjoys watching soccer and Lawn tennis. He is very family oriented and is faithful about remaining in touch with family and friends here and around the world.
dekete@wphospital.org
914.681.2395, option 2
Rabbi Michael Goldman is a Staff Chaplain who was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. He looks forward every workday to the variety of life experiences perspectives and spiritual dispositions of the people he encounters at WPH. He loves the Hospital's sense of collective mission, and the wisdom and humor of his colleagues on the Pastoral Care team.
Rabbi Michael loves tending his garden and chickens, and cooking Shabbat dinner for loved ones. He loves White Plains and tries to give back to his community by serving on the city's Conservation Board, Beautification Foundation and his synagogue.
The V. Rev. Fr. Cyril Owambo is an Orthodox Catholic priest. Fr. Cyril served as a former Associate Judge Metropolitan Tribunal of the Province of New York, Rector of a Junior Seminary and an External Exam Reader of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. He enjoys his ministry as an inter-faith chaplain at White Plains Hospital. Every day is a unique gift as he encounters the range of patients of various beliefs and spiritual paths. As a Kenyan national, he enjoys listening to music from Eastern Africa as well as popular classical instrumentals.
In his kitchen, he keeps a stock of various spices which he uses as he enjoys cooking. He loves taking walks in the countryside, enjoying the open space, breathing fresh air, listening to chirping birds, enjoying the surrounding flora and the fauna of the neighborhood, they help to animate his soul.
cowambo@wphospital.org
914.681.2395, option 5
Rev. Ray Bagnuolo was ordained in 2005 as a Presbyterian Minister of Word and Sacrament, following careers in business and education. He is grateful to serve as per-dem staff chaplain alongside White Plains Hospital's dedicated staff and leadership, offering their gifts and kindness to the care and healing of all who find their way to us.
Ray is a long-time advocate for his Queer/LGBTQIA+ community - and stage manager for the Annual Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1990. Lastly, each night as he arrives home, he is greeted by Arthur, his 22-pound Maine Coon/Mix rescue! Ah, life is good!
Chaplain Anne is a former early childhood educator who was led to chaplaincy after working with Hospice as well as a bereavement minister at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scarsdale, NY. She is a Poet, Marriage/Funeral officiant and spiritual director who uses creative forms of compassionate care for healing at WP Hospital.
As pediatric Chaplain for the Mother/Child Unit at White Plains Hospital, Anne is the Perinatal Bereavement Support Counselor Minister specially trained in Resolve Through Sharing.
Anne serves as a consultant with Guideposts Foundation and has designed a spiritual Comfort Kit for hospitalized children. The Comfort Kit for Kids has reached 49 States and has helped over 175,000 children.
agentile@wphospital.org
914.681.2395, option 3
Maggida- Omanit (storyteller-teacher) Chana Stein has been an educator for over 30 years for students from 4-year-olds to 80, in schools, youth groups and for individuals. Her paintings decorate Jewish utensils, vases and walls in the USA, France, and Israel. She has told stories and developed a variety of educational storytelling and art-based programs both in the USA and Israel.
She is currently a rabbinical student at AJR seminary and is working on collecting stories about the words of the T’fillot- the prayers. Chana admires the culture of respect and friendship that pervades White Plains Hospital. She enjoys learning about, and working with, people of all beliefs, religions, and faiths.