Hospital Chaplaincy

Halifax Baptist Hospital Chaplaincy Committee Annual Report for 2023

A copy of our 2023 Annual Report which will be included in the Halifax Region United Baptist Association Annual Reports Book for their Annual General Meeting on March 23, 2024 is available here.

Letter to Supporting Churches--October 13, 2023

A copy of our October 13, 2023 Letter to HRUBA Churches is available here.

AChaplaincy Logo Cross and Stethoscopebout the Halifax Baptist Hospital Chaplaincy


Greetings on behalf of the Halifax Baptist Hospital Chaplaincy Committee. We thank you for your prayers and support for our Chaplaincy Ministry. 

The Halifax Baptist Hospital Chaplaincy is a ministry of the Halifax Region United Baptist Association (HRUBA) which provides chaplaincy ministry to patients and staff in the four hospitals in peninsular Halifax--the Halifax Infirmary, Victoria General, Rehabilitation and Arthritis Centre of the QEII Health Sciences Centre and IWK Health, which provides care for women and children.  These hospitals provide medical services not only to residents of Halifax, but to all of Nova Scotia, and specialized medical services to patients from the entire maritimes. 

The chaplaincy ministry is overseen by a Committee of volunteers which reports to the HRUBA Council.  

Halifax Baptist Hospital Chaplaincy Committee
     Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
     Chair: Alan Barkhouse
     Clerk: Rev. Dr. Marlene Knowles
     Treasurer: David Gibson
     Member: Rev. Wayne Desmond
     Member: Pastor Steve Baker
     Member: Lic. Sharon White (on furlough)
     Chaplains: Rev. Joe Green and Rev. Dr. Ida Armstrong Whitehouse


Halifax Baptist Hospital Chaplaincy Brochure

This brochure describes this ministry and intoduces our Chaplains.  It includes contact information for our Chaplains so you can let them know when a patient in a Halifax hospital would like a visit.  You may print or download this document.  A copy of our Brochure is available here.  

If you would like color copies of the brochure sent to to your church, please send an email request to
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Hospital Chaplain Contact Information:


Please feel free to contact the chaplains if you have questions or would like to let us know a friend or loved one is in the hospital wishing a visit.
 
   Halifax Hospitals:
     
Rev. Joe Green: 902 473- 2220 pager 2385
          Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
     Rev. Dr. Ida Armstrong-Whitehouse: 902 473-2220 pager 2395
          Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

We also have a close working relationship with the Hospital Chaplain at the Dartmouth General Hospital, the Rev. Pamela Estey, who is a Baptist Minister employed by the NS Health Authority.  As patients are frequently transferred between the Halifax hospitals and the Dartmouth General Hospital, this helps to ensure that chaplaincy ministry follows the patient.

   Dartmouth General Hospital:
     Rev. Pamela Estey: 902-465-8472 or 902-456-2074
          Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 


Information to Pastors about Hospital Visiting


Requirements vary depending on the hospital, ward, and current infection control precautions.  If you are considering hospital visiting, please contact one of the Chaplains to get the most recent information on any limitations or precautions you may face. 

Joe is now offering short "visitation workshops" for local pastors covering topics such as infection control, confidentiality and best practices that a number of pastors have found very useful.  Please contact Joe directly if you would like to attend one of the workshops or if you would like to request a topic for a future workshop.

Please note that the Hospital Chaplains are regarded as "staff" and will be able to visit even when you may not be able to, so they may be able to visit for you if you give them the patient information.


Meet our Chaplains

At the end of May, 2022, we celebrated the retirement of the Rev. Adele Crowell after many years of compassionate service as our full-time Chaplain. 

We welcomed the Rev. Joe Green as our-full time Chaplain in June, 2022.  He works primarily at the QEII Halifax Infirmary and Victoria General sites.  

The Rev. Dr. Armstrong-Whitehouse continues as our part-time Chaplain.  She provides chaplaincy ministry to the Victoria General, IWK and Rehab hospitals. 

Photos and short bios on Joe and Ida are available here.


Funding and 2023 Operating Budget

The Halifax Hospital Chaplaincy is funded entirely by support of the following parties: the HRUBA Budget, a grant from the Atlantic Baptist Foundation, support from local baptist churches and regional associations, and donations from foundations, individuals and estates. 

With accounting and payroll services provided free of charge by the office of the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada, our overhead is kept to 2% of our budget, which means that 98% of all donations go directly to providing chapaincy ministry.

A copy of the 2023 Halifax Baptist Hospital Chaplaincy Budget, approved on February 16, 2023, and including Estimates of Income and Expenditure for 2023 and comparative data from 2019 to 2022 is available here.

Information on ways to donate to the ministry of the Halifax Baptist Hospital Chaplaincy is available here.



Endowment Fund

We have recently established an Endowment Fund to provide long term financial support for the Hospital Chaplaincy ministry. 

This Fund can receive donations by means of cash, cheque, or electronic funds transfer. 

It is also able to receive a transfer of shares of publicly traded stocks.  This will be of interest to donors who wish to reduce taxation on capital gains. 

Details are available from:

Halifax Baptist Hospital Chaplaincy Committee Treasurer
5561 Heatherwood Court, Suite 303
Halifax  NS   B3K 5N7
or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


2022 Annual Report

A copy of our 2022 Annual Report which was included in the Halifax Region United Baptist Association Annual Reports Book is available 
here.


Letters to Local Churches

A coy of our October 13, 2023 Letter to HRUBA Churches is available here.

A copy of our May 16, 2023 E-mail Letter to HRUBA Churches is available here.

A copy of our October 7, 2022 Letter to Local Churches is available here.

A copy of our July 12, 2022 Letter to Local Churches is available here

A copy of our September 15,2021 Letter to Local Churches is available here.