Any patient, family member or visitor may request to speak with a chaplain, and any staff member can make a referral to the spiritual care and chaplaincy team. 

Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Telephone: 410-955-5843 (from outside the hospital)
5-5843 (from a hospital telephone)

Fax: 410-502-6765

After 5:00 p.m., and on weekends and holidays, patients or visitors may ask a nurse or other staff member to contact the JHH On-Call Chaplain. 

The Rev. Dr. Paula Teague, D.Min., M.B.A., B.C.C.

Senior Director of the Johns Hopkins Academic Division
Director of the System Sponsored CPE Program
Director of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

Phone: 410-550-7569
Email: p[email protected]

The Senior Director of the Academic Division, Director of the System Sponsored Clinical Pastoral Education program and Director of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.  She is a Society of Friends (Quaker) minister and has been a certified Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) Supervisor since 1989.  She holds the Artium Baccalaureus from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina; the Master of Divinity from The Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana; and the Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia.  She holds a Master in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Teague’s interests include the integration of spiritual care with the disciplines of palliative care, pediatric medicine, and ethics.  Paula has recently published a response to a featured article on Physician Assisted Suicide in the Caregiver Journal from the Association for Professional Chaplains and has co-authored a paper on disaster training for ministers.  She has served in various leadership roles within ACPE and is currently the Treasurer for the Association.  Paula has been a certified ACPE, Inc. Supervisor for over twenty years and a Board Certified Chaplain since 1989.

Mr. Thomas Y. (Ty) Crowe, II, M.Div., B.C.C.

Director of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy

Phone: 410-955-5842
Email: [email protected]

He is an ordained teacher in the Shadhiliyya Sufi Order, and is a certified ACPE Educator. Prior to coming to The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Ty served as Coordinator of Clinical Pastoral Education at Sutter Medical Center, in Sacramento, California, for four years and was a part-time chaplain for the Sutter Center for Psychiatry. He has supervised CPE students at Baptist Health in Jacksonville, Florida; at Vitas Hospice in Ormond Beach, Florida; and at Tallahassee Memorial in Tallahassee. Ty has a particular interest in chaplaincy research and quality improvement, and is a Board Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains.

The Rev. Tamekia A. Milton, M.Div.

Clinical Pastoral Education Program Manager

Phone: 410-614-4154
Email: [email protected] 

An ordained Baptist minister and and certified ACPE educator, she is the Program Manager for Clinical Pastoral Education.  Tamekia formerly supervised chaplaincy students at Hampton VA Medical Center in Virginia and Brookwood Baptist Health System (Alabama), where she also was the cancer center chaplain.  Previously she served as an associate pastor and youth pastor, and remains active in local church ministry.  She holds a bachelor of arts degree in music performance and education from Clark Atlanta University (Georgia), and a master of divinity from Emory University Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. 

The Rev. Rhonda S. Cooper, M.Div., B.C.C. 

Chaplain of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center

Phone: 410-502-1500
Email: [email protected]

The Chaplain of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and an ordained clergy member of The Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church.  She graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, and holds a master of divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. She served as a pastor for 15 years before becoming a hospital chaplain, and is a Board Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains.

The Rev. John V.P.R. Ponnala, M.A., B.D., B.C.C. 

Family Advocate Coordinator and Surgery Chaplain

Phone: 410-502-7617
Email: [email protected]

The Family Advocate Coordinator and Surgery Chaplain, is an ordained Lutheran minister of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church of India, and is a Board Certified Chaplain through APC. John holds a masters of arts degree in history, and a bachelor of divinity degree from the Ecumenical Seminary of The United Theological College in Bangalore, India. He also holds a diploma in the Ecumenical Movement from the Bossey Ecumenical Institute of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, and advocates for the Dalit people (“untouchables”) of India. John serves as the Area Certification Chair for Association of Professional Chaplains, which includes Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as serving as a commission member of the Board of Certification of Chaplaincy Inc.

The Rev. Kat Kowalski, M.Div., B.C.C.

Neonatal ICU Chaplain and Perinatal Palliative Care Support

Phone: 410-955-7280
Email: [email protected]

Serves as the Neonatal ICU Chaplain in the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, providing care to the very youngest hospital patients and their families. She is a valued member of the pediatric team with expertise in perinatal palliative care and ministry. An ordained interfaith minister, Kat received a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and women's studies from University of Maryland at College Park, and was awarded the master of divinity degree from Starr King School for the Ministry (Berkeley, California). The video Holding Space: Palliative Care in the NICU highlights Kat's work.

Rabbi Naftali Rabinowitz 

Jewish Chaplain

Phone: 410-955-8538
Email: [email protected]

Serves as the Jewish Chaplain for the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Rabbi Rabinowitz received his graduate level degree in Talmudic Law from Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland. He completed a Clinical Pastoral Education chaplain residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2021, preparing him to respond to the needs of people of all faiths and religious backgrounds within Judaism. Rabbi Rabinowitz works closely with Bikur Cholim of Baltimore staff and volunteers to meet the needs of Jewish patients in the hospital. He was born in Jerusalem, Israel, a member of the Hasidic sect of Orthodox Judaism, and relocated with his family to Baltimore at the age of eight. He is fluent in English, Hebrew and Yiddish.

The Rev. Joshua Rodriguez-Hobbs, M.Div.

Episcopal Chaplain

Phone: 410-502-9796
Email: [email protected]

Serves as the Episcopal Chaplain for the hospital. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in Biblical Languages from Lubbock Christian University in Texas, and the master of divinity degree from Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut. He also received a diploma in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. Before assuming his pastoral duties at Johns Hopkins Hospital he served as a parish priest and a hospice chaplain. He is a Certified Educator Candidate, in training to educate chaplaincy students in the ACPE program.

 

Linda Johnson-Harvey 

Administrative Coordinator

Phone: 410-955-5843
Email: [email protected]

Serves as the Administrative Coordinator for the department. In addition to her administrative skills for Johns Hopkins Hospital, she also supports the CPE Academic Program as the CPE Tuition Coordinator. She provides administrative support for Medical-Religious Partnerships and Caring for the Community. Since 2015, she has served with the House of Ruth (Maryland) and part of the first group of graduating Storytellers for the center. She is a trauma facilitator and coach for the trauma Healing Institute (Baltimore Cares) program. She is a graduate from Chesapeake Bible College and Seminary and Freedom Temple Bible Institute. She is a recipient of many community leadership and service awards and continues to work toward healing in marginalized Baltimore communities.

A competent cadre of professional chaplains serve in the on call capacity, further enabling The Johns Hopkins Hospital to have 24/7 chaplain coverage.  These include Rev. Tyra Curley, Ms. Paula Thistle, Mr. Jason Wilson and Rev. Thomasine Adams.  All have completed at least four units of Clinical Pastoral Education training, and serve as vital members of the chaplaincy team at Johns Hopkins.

Telephone: 410-955-5842

If you have a specific request for the Catholic Chaplain, please ask your nurse or other staff member to contact the JHH On-Call Chaplain.  If you are from out of town and will be traveling to Johns Hopkins Hospital for your medical care, you may also notify the Catholic Office in advance of your arrival with any sacramental needs.

To contact a chaplain, you may page "JHH On-Call Chaplain"  24/7. 

The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Department of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy
1800 Orleans Street
Osler 101
Baltimore, Maryland 21287-0019