Kei Okada is a retired hospice chaplain, a writer and an artist.  Born in New York and raised in Kanazawa, Japan, he came back to New York thirty-nine years ago to study at the School of Visual Arts and spent eight years in visual and performing arts before entering Union Theological Seminary in 1990.  The seminary’s Field Education course led him to find his vocation in chaplaincy upon his first clinical training (CPE) in 1991.

After graduating from Union, Kei worked at NY Presbyterian Cornell Medical Center’s “Program for Children with AIDS” and Housing Works’ Adult Day Health Care programs for the homeless living with HIV, then from 2006, Visiting Nurse Service of New York Hospice and Palliative Care, where Kei supervised spiritual care counselors and developed staff education on integrating holistic spiritual care into their clinical practice.

Kei retired from his position as Program Manager, End-of-Life Spiritual Care in the end of 2021, and he is currently writing his first book for Igaku-Shoin Ltd, Tokyo, on the humanity and mystical consciousness for meaningful communication with those who are facing death.  Kei is a retired Board-Certified Chaplain under BCCI (Association of Professional Chaplains), an associate of Columbia University Seminar on Death and a board member of The National Widowers’ Association.

Find out more of Kei’s spiritual/mystical approach by following these links:

• Spiritual Wellness 1: https://www.prainc.com/8-convos-spiritual-1/
• Spiritual Wellness 2: https://www.prainc.com/8-convos-spiritual-2/