Spiritual Support Team at GBMC
Spiritual Support Team
Reverend Saundra Rector, M.Div., BCC, CCISM
Chaplain, Manager of Spiritual Services at GBMC HealthCare
Chaplain Rector has a primary focus at GBMC on clinical rounds - providing spiritual and emotional support for the hospital’s patients, families and staff. She chairs GBMC’s employee hardship fund committee, co-chairs the hospital's ethics committee, and serves on the planning body for our John Adams Rounds. Sandy is also responsible for developing relationships with community clergy and religious leaders, overseeing our on-call clergy pool, and working with our Volunteer Department to recruit and train volunteers for patient visitation. She serves as adjunct faculty in GBMC’s intern and residency programs, while supervising interns from local seminaries who are developing their care-giving skills. Chaplain Rector received her Bachelor of Arts with a focus in Broadcast Communications from the University of Iowa, and worked in advertising, public relations, and marketing early in her career. Called into ministry as a second vocation, she received a Master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and is an ordained Elder in The United Methodist Church, Baltimore-Washington Conference. She served as a parish pastor at several churches in the DC-Metro area, during which she provided direction for ministerial candidates as a part of the District Committee on Ordained Ministry, served as a mentor as well as a site supervisor for Wesley Seminary interns. Prior to coming to GBMC in 2017, Chaplain Rector completed a one-year chaplain residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, and is a board-certified chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains.
Community Partners
Roman Catholic Ministry
Father Nicholas Mwai
Catholic Priest Chaplain
Fr. Nicholas Mwai, a Kenyan native, is a Catholic priest serving in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He graduated from St. Mary Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland, and was ordained to the priesthood in 2023. Fr. Nicholas holds a Master's Degree in Divinity from St. Mary Seminary & University and was appointed as the Catholic Chaplain at GBMC and Gilchrist by Archbishop William Lori in August 2023. In addition to this role, he also serves as an Associate Pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Towson. He currently resides at the Church of Immaculate Conception in Towson.
Reverend Vito S. Piazza, Sr., M.A.
Catholic Chaplain
Reverend Vito was ordained a Permanent Deacon for the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore in May of 2013 and is currently assigned to GBMC. Vito visits patients in the critical care units offering spiritual support and emotional reassurance. He also attends Ethics Committee meetings and family consults as needed. He earned a B.A in Religious Studies with minors in Latin American studies and Philosophy from Notre Dame of Maryland University. He holds two masters degrees from Saint Mary’s Seminary & University Ecumenical Institute of Theology, an M.A. in Theology and an M.A. in Church Ministries with a concentration in Pastoral Care. Vito and his wife of 40 years, Doris, established the Hope for Morrope Foundation, a 501C3 non-profit corporation in 2002 which provides post secondary education leading to university admission for the underprivileged in Morrope, Peru.
School Sisters of Notre Dame Health Care Ministers
Pictured left to right: Sister Josephann Wagoner, Sister Marie Rose Gustatus, Sister Kathleen Boland, Sister Mary Beth Buettner
Members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame are often our patients. This wonderful team of devoted caregivers visit GBMC on a regular basis in the care of their sisters.
Assistant Center of Towson Churches
Linda Lotz
Executive Director, Assistance Center of Towson Churches
GBMC has a distinct honor of partnering with the Assistance Center of Towson Churches at various times during the year to support needy families at the holidays, as well as a to provide a nurse practitioner to do health screenings for guests who come to the center each month.
Kosher Pantry Partners
Bikur Cholim
Bikur Cholim (visiting the sick) is a Jewish organization providing encouragement and reassurance to patients and families. At GBMC they provide challah bread, grape juice and candles for Shabbat on a weekly basis.
Rabbi Pinchos Rabinowitz
Executive Director, Bikur Cholm and Organizational Liaison to GBMC
Mrs. Toby Friedman
Patient Visitor