Chaplain Gregg TeBeest Completes Clinical Pastoral Education
- June 24, 2013
The Reverend Gregg TeBeest, chaplain at Brookings Health System, recently completed his Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) from the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE).
TeBeest received his clinical training from Avera Health ACPE System Center in Sioux Falls. To complete his education, he underwent four training units, each of which required 100 hours of structured group and individual education and 300 hours of supervised clinical practice ministry.
The training enables TeBeest to effectively minister to people of all faiths, cultural and spiritual backgrounds or those with no religious affiliation.
“One of the goals of CPE training is to promote the chaplain’s sense of self awareness,” said TeBeest. “Having this awareness enables me to identify with a patient’s experience without intruding on their story.
“For example, I find that patients often struggle with the meaning of illness and death even as I have. During a pastoral care visit, I focus on the patient’s experience and not a script or a personal agenda. While I may identify with their experience, I strive to enable them to explore their unique experiences and to come to terms with its meaning. Through providing spiritual care, I have learned that patients who share their experiences often make self discoveries which in turn help them to be more at peace and accepting of their circumstances.”
As the health system’s chaplain for the past three years, TeBeest provides free of charge spiritual care and pastoral counseling to hospital and hospice patients, The Neighborhoods at Brookview residents, and Brookings Health System employees. Services he provides include bereavement care for families, funerals and memorial services for patients and residents without faith support, and chapel services for residents at The Neighborhoods at Brookview.
In addition to his CPE training, TeBeest holds a bachelor’s degree in Bible and Pastorology from Pillsbury Baptist Bible College in Owatonna, Minn.; and a master’s degree of Divinity from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Minneapolis. He also has eight years of experience as a parish pastor.
Brookings Health System patients, residents, and family members who would like a pastoral care visit from TeBeest may place a request with care providers.
For more information on Brookings Health System and its full list of services, please visit www.brookingshealth.org.
About Brookings Health System
Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, and Brookhaven Estates apartments. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, and extended care services. The emergency room is staffed 24 hours a day and provides around the clock medical-nursing care for patient needs ranging from minor injuries to life threatening crises. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.