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Department of Spiritual Care Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center 10833 LeConte Avenue, 12-217 CHS Los Angeles, CA 90095-1733 Phone: (310) 825-7484 Fax: (310) 267-0291 www.uclahealth.org/SpiritualCare
Rev. Karen Schnell is the Director of the Spiritual Care Department for UCLA Health. She is the Administrator for the Department at both hospital sites and also functions as a CPE Supervisor and Chaplain. She is ordained for ministry and endorsed for Chaplaincy by the United Church of Christ, and certified as a CPE Supervisor by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Rev. Schnell did the majority of her CPE and Supervisory training at UCLA Medical Center, and her chaplaincy experience includes medical intensive care, oncology, palliative care, emergency services, and general hospital ministry. She also served as the Manager of Spiritual Care and Education at Children's Hospital Los Angeles for five years. Email: KSchnell@mednet.ucla.edu
Rev. Yuko Uesugi is the Director of ACPE Clinical Pastoral Education and Associate Director of the Spiritual Care Department for UCLA Health. She is a certified CPE Supervisor with ACPE and an ordained Elder of the United Methodist Church (UMC). She completed the ACPE internship and residency programs at UCLA Westwood and Santa Monica Hospital. She is a native of Japan, and came to the U.S. in 1996 in order to pursue her theological education. She holds her B.A. in Business Administration from Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, Japan and M. Div. Degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Rev. Uesugi has chaplaincy experience in cardiology, psychiatry, oncology, and general hospital ministry, as well as management experience of the Spiritual Care Department at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. Email: YUesugi@mednet.ucla.edu
Rev. Keri Olsen, M.Div. is a certified Supervisory Candidate with ACPE. She is commissioned as a Deacon and endorsed for chaplaincy by the United Methodist Church. She completed her first four ACPE accredited units through internship and residency in Atlanta, Georgia. She completed 4 more units as a CPE resident at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. She holds a B.A. in Religious Studies with a Studio Art minor from University of the Pacific in Stockton, California and holds a Master of Divinity from Emory’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia. Rev. Olsen grew up in Hemet, CA. Her chaplaincy experience includes neurology/stroke, high risk pregnancy, medical intensive care, psychiatry, pediatric hematology/oncology, liver transplant, and general hospital ministry. Email: KLOlsen@mednet.ucla.edu
Rev. Aiko Johnson is the Pediatric Staff Chaplain for Mattel Children's Hospital at Ronal Reagan UCLA Medical Center. She is ordained for ministry and endorsed for chaplaincy by the Presbyterian Church (USA), and is a board-certified chaplain with APC. She holds a M.A. in Communication Studies from California State University Long Beach, and a M. Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. She completed her CPE internship at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and her CPE residency at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood. Rev. Johnson played an active role in the development of a pediatric palliative care program at UCLA, and has served as the chaplain for this program, Children’s Pain and Comfort Care, since it began its clinical services in 2008. Additionally, she has served as a member of the hospital Ethics Committee since 2005. She is a native of Japan, having lived in the Los Angeles area since 1995. Email: AIJohnson@mednet.ucla.edu
Rev. Fr. Siju Kuriakose is a Staff Chaplain at RR UCLA Medical Center, serving primarily the Catholic patient population. He is ordained to the priesthood for the Arch Diocese of Kottayam in the Syro-Malabar rite. He completed his bachelor’s and master’s level theological studies in Rome, Italy and his philosophical and other undergraduate studies in India. After seven years of pastoral experience in India, serving in both congregational and hospital settings, he came to the U.S. in 2011. He served as Associate Pastor to a Catholic congregation in Chicago, IL and also completed one unit of ACPE accredited CPE at the University of Illinois Chicago Hospital (UIC). Now as a staff chaplain at RR UCLA Medical Center, he is continuing his CPE training at UCLA Health while performing his duties as the Catholic chaplain. In addition, he serves as the pastor for the local Syro-Malabar Catholic Church which meets in Montebello, California. Email: SKuriakose@mednet.ucla.edu
Rev. Chitra Rao is the Oncology Staff Chaplain at the outpatient UCLA Bowyer Oncology Center and on the inpatient Hematology and Stem Cell Transplant Unit at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. She is an Episcopal priest and a board-certified chaplain with APC. Prior to coming to UCLA she served as an oncology staff chaplain for six years on the pediatric and adult patient units at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, CA and later as a hospice chaplain and bereavement supervisor. Rev. Rao received a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary and completed her CPE residency at the University of North Carolina Hospitals, where her chaplaincy experience was concentrated in neonatal, obstetrics, and gynecology. Additionally, she earned her Bachelors from MS University of Baroda in India and graduate degrees in Special Education from Long Island University, New York and in Audiology from Montclair State University, New Jersey. Email: CRao@mednet.ucla.edu
Rev. Joseph Hepburn is a staff chaplain at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. He is originally from Trinidad. He attended United Theological College of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica, completing his B.A. in Theology. Subsequently, at Drew University in Madison, NJ, he was awarded M.A. and M.Phil. degrees in Philosophy and Ethics in 1989. He then returned to serve the Methodist Churches in the Caribbean and later accepted an appointment in the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church where he served at the Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham, AL, followed by an internship at Saint Elizabeth's Psychiatric Hospital in Washington, D.C. in 2002. After serving his home circuit in Trinidad and Tobago, Joseph came to California and completed the CPE residency program at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. He is endorsed for chaplaincy by the United Methodist Church. Email: JHepburn@mednet.ucla.edu
Rev. Lori Koutouratsas is the palliative care chaplain at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. Lori received a Bachelor's of Science degree from Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles, CA, studying Biology, Chemistry, and English. She also received a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary and is an ordained Presbyterian Church USA Minister. Lori completed her first unit of CPE at Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, CA and completed her CPE residency year, as well as second year as an advanced Clinical Resident, at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. In 2012, Lori joined the staff at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. Email: LKoutouratsas@mednet.ucla.edu
Rev. Diane Williams is a staff chaplain at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. She completed her CPE Residency at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center with a focus on liver transplant and adolescent in-patient psychiatry. She is an ordained Religious Science minister. Diane received a Masters in Metaphysical Science from the University of Metaphysics and a Ph.D. in Pastoral Counseling from the University of Sedona. For seven years, Diane was the Ministry Leader through her local church community in a ministry that supports people in the death/dying process. Her focus at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, is in Maternal & Child Health Services. Diane lived in various places in the U.S. and has called southern California home for the past 25 years. Email: DLWilliams@mednet.ucla.edu
The Spiritual Care Department also includes an Office Administrator and many qualified volunteers from most faith traditions, including Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, and Roman Catholic. As part of the Spiritual Care Department's team, they work together with CPE interns, residents and staff to serve the spiritual and religious needs of the Medical Center's patients, patient-family members, staff and faculty.
UCLA Health is an Accredited Center for CPE Level 1, Level 2, and Supervisory CPE by ACPE, Inc. One West Court Square, Suite 325, Decatur, GA 30033 (404) 320-1472. www.acpe.edu Rev. Karen Schnell and Rev. Yuko Uesugi are certified ACPE Supervisors. Rev. Keri Olsen is a certified ACPE Supervisory Candidate.
