At PeaceHealth, we deeply value the voices of our community and the passion behind recent feedback regarding changes within our Mission Integration department. We remain committed to listening with humility, transparency, and care—especially during times of change.
To provide clarity and reassurance, we have shared the following Letter to the Editor, which addresses recent coverage and affirms the continued importance of PeaceHealth’s Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program.
Letter to the Editor,
I want to acknowledge the deep passion and care reflected in the community’s response to PeaceHealth’s recent difficult decision to make structural changes within our Mission Integration department. PeaceHealth values the voices of our community members, and we remain committed to listening with humility, transparency and care, especially during periods of change. Community feedback helps guide us, and we take that responsibility seriously.
The recent coverage of PeaceHealth’s Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program has raised understandable questions, and I want to offer clarity for our community.
I want to emphasize PeaceHealth’s CPE program is not ending. While we recently underwent a restructure of our Mission Integration department, the CPE program remains a vital part of our ministry. As part of the restructure, PeaceHealth consolidated functions into a System CPE Manager and a System Director of Mission and Ministry Formation. These positions, dedicated to ensuring quality and long-term stability for our program across all PeaceHealth ministries, were filled within two weeks by Mission and Spiritual Care leaders who had been impacted by the restructure.
The students currently enrolled in our CPE cohort will be supported through the completion of their program. We actively coordinated with the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) to ensure all requirements were met, as is standard practice whenever an accredited program experiences transition. It is also important to note that CPE programs nationwide increasingly use hybrid and distributed education models, many of which are publicly available through ACPE accredited centers, like St. Joseph Medical Center. These models — combining in-person clinical hours with virtual group work and supervision — have become a widely accepted approach for theological education. Such formats allow organizations to remain faithful to rigorous formation standards while also being nimble and prudent stewards of limited resources, a necessity in today’s challenging healthcare environment.
PeaceHealth’s mission-rooted commitment to forming compassionate spiritual care providers remains unchanged. The restructuring decisions were difficult, and we recognize the real human impact they carry. These changes were made to ensure the long-term sustainability of our ministries, including CPE, for years to come.
We regret that the transition caused confusion and concern to students and community members. Our focus is on supporting our current cohort, strengthening our program’s foundation and ensuring that this essential ministry of formation continues to thrive. We will continue listening to those we serve with respect, openness and deep gratitude.
Sincerely,
Erica Torres
System VP, Mission Integration
