Muslim spiritual care offers comfort — and improves patient outcomes — at HCMC

In her 15 years as a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Hennepin County Medical Center, Hawa Ali has often provided Qurans for her Muslim patients. She said having the holy text brings patients relief while they suffer through the worst of their mental health crises.

For the last three years, patients had an additional resource: three Muslim spiritual care providers hired by Hennepin Healthcare. The care providers not only ease patients’ minds, but they have also helped reduce readmission rates for Muslim patients — by more than two-thirds in the hospital’s inpatient psychiatry department.

“There’s mistrust of Western treatment, but I see people when they have a spiritual care member approach them, they can face their challenges and regulate their behaviors,” Hawa said. “Seeing someone you can relate to spiritually, that makes a difference.”

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