USA Health chaplain selected to present at two national conferences in 2026
“Helping others to build a coping toolkit is a passion of mine, because throughout my life people along my journey helped me build my own set of coping skills,” said Kim Crawford Meeks, BCC, chaplain and spiritual care manager for USA Health.
By Michelle Ryan-Day
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USA Health chaplain Kim Crawford Meeks, BCC, has been selected to present at two major national conferences in 2026, a recognition of her leadership in spiritual care and her commitment to helping others build resilience through healthy coping.
Her professional development intensive, “REACH: Reaching Out to Offer Hope and Receive Hope,” was chosen for the 2026 Caring for the Human Spirit Conference and Westberg Symposium, to be held virtually April 20–22, 2026, as well as the 2026 Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) Annual Conference, set for June 11–13 in New Orleans.
Both conferences noted highly competitive submission pools, making her selection a significant honor.
“I was thrilled to hear that REACH was chosen at these particular conferences, because my hope is that the chaplains at these events will model the program to take back to their health systems,” said Meeks, who serves as spiritual care manager for the health system. “While reaching out to coach as many people as possible is the goal, if only one person gains a more healthy and positive quality of life then the program is a success.”
Developed and taught by Meeks, REACH offers a comprehensive approach to whole-person support — physical, emotional, and spiritual. The program covers understanding emotions, assessing distress, communicating with empathy, and building personalized coping toolkits. Each session concludes with practical mindfulness, breathing, and stretching exercises professionals can use in both personal and clinical settings.
For Meeks, this work is deeply personal. “Helping others to build a coping toolkit is a passion of mine, because throughout my life people along my journey helped me build my own set of coping skills,” she said. “These skills have enabled me to cope, overcome, and move forward in hope after experiencing several traumatic events.”
Recently, a USA Health ICU nurse shared that a coping skill learned during a REACH presentation has helped her manage challenging days and heartbreaking cases. She is now teaching the skill to others. For Meeks, that single story affirmed why this work matters.
“Every life matters,” she said. “We all need to know how to reach out to receive help and how to offer help and hope to one another.”
Meeks has taught the REACH program to nurses in Birmingham for many years and now offers it to new nurses and patient care assistants at USA Health, while also remaining available to all departments. “We all need to continually learn coping skills and add those to our own toolkits,” she said.
Looking ahead, Meeks hopes to expand access to coping education even further. Her long-term goal is to launch a podcast titled “The Coping Show,” creating an accessible platform for sharing healthy coping practices with a wider audience. She is planning a virtual session titled “Coping Through the Holidays” on Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 3-4 p.m. To join the Teams meeting, click here.
