Chaplains usually assume that cost containment concerns are a negative influence on their ministry. We argue that they can be a positive opportunity to demonstrate cost efficiency. We describe here a pilot project that gathered data for two months from three university general hospital pastoral care departments concerning the number of pastoral contacts, the time used in these contacts, the quality of pastoral services delivered, and the costs involved. We create a model that integrates these diverse data into a“pastoral care index.”The cost per pastoral care contact ranged from $2.17 to $6.43. Further refinement and use of this model will promote the cause of hospital chaplaincy.