Spiritual Care Without Limits: The Launch of HSCI's TrayaCare Global Telechaplaincy Services
Historically, spiritual care has been confined to specific locations -- hospitals, universities, and faith centers -- and has typically been available only during regular working hours. This model has left significant gaps, especially for individuals and families outside institutional settings or those whose life schedules do not align with traditional support hours.
To address these limitations, HSCI is launching TrayaCare, a video-based telechaplaincy service, in select markets. Using secure and private video technology, TrayaCare connects individuals with trained, supervised chaplains regardless of location or time. The platform allows users to receive confidential support in the language most comfortable to them.
Breaking Barriers of Space, Time, and Language
By leveraging virtual technology, TrayaCare directly addresses four key barriers to spiritual care:
- Space: Chaplaincy is no longer confined to the walls of a hospital, university, or temple. Care is now accessible from any physical location, including one's home.
- Time: Support is no longer restricted to standard office hours. Individuals can request care when they need it most, including outside of business hours and across time zones.
- Access: Individuals in rural or isolated areas, and those with limited mobility, can now engage in spiritual care, significantly improving reach and equity.
- Language and Culture: Users can interact with chaplains in their preferred language, ensuring a more culturally attuned and personally relevant experience.
Privacy and security are central to the platform. All calls are encrypted, and users' personal phone numbers are protected. No new apps are required -- TrayaCare operates via WhatsApp (used only for communication, not video), which is already present on more than 2 billion devices globally.
Expanding Access in a Time of Change
Wider societal shifts have reshaped how we connect and receive care. Telehealth utilization has surged in recent years. A 2024 survey found that 54% of Americans have used some form of telehealth, up from just 10% in 2019. Of those, nearly 90% reported satisfaction with their most recent experience -- demonstrating how virtual care is meeting access needs and patient expectations.
The solution is clear: we must bring spiritual care to where people are -- at home, in their communities, and on their own time. Telechaplaincy is not optional; it is the only scalable model that can address this vast and growing care gap.
Spiritual services are evolving in parallel. Remote and digital spiritual care is increasingly in demand, particularly among younger generations seeking holistic well-being. Informal estimates suggest that many spiritual care providers already conduct most interactions via video.
A Momentous Step for Human Connectivity
Implementing TrayaCare involves more than technological readiness -- it also requires trusted, community-based pathways to connect individuals with care. To this end, HSCI is collaborating with local temples, county offices, and funeral homes to establish referral systems. A simple QR code at these locations can lead directly to a confidential video session with a chaplain suited to the individual's language and needs. The system is designed for ease and privacy.
TrayaCare offers support across a wide spectrum: last rites, memorial planning, hospital visitation, premarital counseling, and more. Suggested donations are listed, but services are not denied due to inability to pay. Quality assurance is built into the platform, with supervision and feedback mechanisms ensuring consistent, respectful care.
The Economic and Societal Spiritual Care Gap
While the estimate of $757.1 billion in annual economic cost is a powerful illustration of the unmet need for spiritual care, it is likely a conservative figure. This estimate is based primarily on U.S. data, particularly from cancer and end-of-life care studies, and does not comprehensively account for the full range of chronic diseases, caregiver distress, or repeated hospitalizations associated with spiritual distress.
There are currently no large-scale, multi-condition, or cross-national studies quantifying the full societal and economic burden of unmet spiritual needs. Data on family caregivers -- who often face burnout, mental health challenges, and lost productivity due to lack of spiritual support -- is especially sparse. In addition, indirect costs such as prolonged hospital stays, higher readmission rates, and reduced quality of life remain largely unmeasured.
Toward a More Comprehensive Estimate
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that 129 million Americans are living with chronic illnesses. These individuals spend 98.7% of their time managing conditions outside clinical environments. They average just 13.9 health care contacts per year, and only 26.5% of these include chaplain visits during short hospital stays (averaging 4.6 days). Thus, patients receive chaplain support for less than 1.2 days per year -- leaving 363.8 days without spiritual care.
The gap is even greater for caregivers. An estimated 135 million Americans serve as family caregivers, providing unpaid support worth $600 billion annually. Yet, they receive no systematic spiritual support, despite 70% identifying faith as a core resource in their lives.
Traditional models address only 2.15% of required spiritual care interactions. Of the 3.17 billion annual interactions needed by patients and caregivers, just 68 million are currently delivered. This leaves over 3.1 billion interactions unmet.
The financial cost of this spiritual care gap is staggering: an estimated $757.1 billion annually, encompassing excess healthcare costs, caregiver productivity losses, burnout, mental health needs, and system inefficiencies.
Appendix A: Estimated Economic Cost of Unmet Spiritual Care Needs -- 1. Healthcare Excess Costs from Unmet Spiritual Needs: $448.5 billion; 2. Preventable Caregiver Productivity Losses: $79.2 billion; 3. Healthcare Staff Burnout Costs: $132 billion; 4. Mental Health Treatment Costs from Spiritual Distress: $77.4 billion; 5. System Inefficiency Costs: $20 billion. Total Economic Impact: $757.1 billion annually.
The solution is clear: we must bring spiritual care to where people are -- at home, in their communities, and on their own time. Telechaplaincy is not optional; it is the only scalable model that can address this vast and growing care gap.
Gaurav Rastogi
Gaurav Rastogi co-founded HSCI to teach Karma Yoga, blending 20+ years in tech with meditation. An ERYT500 teacher and author, he is a GTU trustee, and founder of Living Deeply and Ekrasworks. He brings Hindu wisdom into modern life.