I use my cell phone and my computer frequently. One of the most commonly used features is the calendar program. What makes it convenience for me is that:
I can enter events in the cell phone and they appear on my computer as well.
I can enter events on the computer and they appear in my cell phone as well.
All was well until I dropped my cell phone and was shipped a replacement. On the replacement phone this feature I described is not working. If I enter events on my cell phone they do not show up on my computer. Interestingly if I enter an event on my computer it does show up on my cell phone. I will admit I am still sorting out this issue and find it very frustrating.
On reflecting on it though I think it is an illustration of what happens when we don’t focus on God. If my computer is God, the computer is able to send my cell phone (which represents me) messages and they arrive promptly. If I am not focused on God I can send him messages and they don’t show up. I wonder how many times in life I have been guilty of not functioning so I can stay in sync with God? During Lent I am working intentionally to stay in sync with God. I pray you are able to stay in sync with God also!
This is a picture of the morgue from the TV show NCIS. In the picture the Medical Examiner, Dr. Donald Mallard, is examining a corpse.
Today I conducted a tour of our hospital for a new volunteer chaplain who will be assisting in covering the pager schedule. I had to show him our morgue because from time-to-time the Chaplain along with a Nurse and a Security Officer has to accompany family members to the morgue to view a body. This takes place when the family member arrives after the patient is moved from their hospital room to the morgue. Our preferred location to let the family view the body is in the hospital room. We extend flexibility in how long we wait to move the body. But in some instances the family is going to be too long in arriving and the body has to be sent to the morgue.
I was asked how I feel about taking family members to the morgue. I was honest and said it was not my favorite way to serve the needs of family members. But I feel the presence of a Chaplain in that situation makes the viewing a lot less stressful for the family than it would be without the Chaplain. So while it is not my favorite task, I do not shirk the responsibility when the need arises. For me ministry is not about my convenience, it is about what best meets the needs of the patient and/or their family members.
At the February 23 Service of Remembrance a “common chorus” was sang by the family representatives who spoke. Each family was able to name specific things staff or departments had done to make their time of losing a beloved family member just a bit gentler than it would otherwise have been. Here are few specific acts of kindness that were mentioned:
One patient who was on 7 South was celebrating his 64thWedding Anniversary two days before he died. The staff knew this would be their last wedding anniversary and had Dietary provide a small cake with his dinner tray. His wife had tears of joy for the love they shared as she told this portion of their hospital experience.
One patient’s family said they had been in these units: Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, High Level Care Unit and 7 North during the time they were here. They reported that the staff on each unit showed genuine concern for the patient and the family members. The daughter of the patient said, “The staff treated us like we were part of their family.”
One patient arrived by ambulance and was given CPR in the ambulance and in the Emergency Department. As it happened in this case the administration of CPR did not result in saving his life. The family apologized for not thanking the Emergency Department staff that evening for all they did for the patient. The daughter said, “We were all so overwhelmed by our emotions that the thought of saying thank you did not even cross our minds.”
It is common at our Service of Remembrance to hear comments like the ones shared in this article. The evening was a reminder to me that even though we do hear complaints from some patients, we also please many patients who never get the chance to convey their appreciation. The evening was an encouragement to me to remember that even though we don’t receive a “thank you”, that does not mean the care we have given is not appreciated.
I like this graphic depiction of feedback because it shows feedback as circular process where both parties have a change to listen and to speak. Recently I talked with a friend who has recently been a patient in our hospital. This person generally has felt positive about his admissions at our hospital. The most recent admission has not ranked nearly as highly of the previous admissions. We talked at length about what went right and what did not go so well. I was able to solve the issues, but I was able to let him know I cared about his experience. As I am able I will submit the feedback to our Patient Experience & Culture Department in the hope we can a better job of meeting the expectations of future patients. Networking is clearly part of the chaplain’s role of increasing communication for the benefit of all parties.
When I first moved to Cumberland I lived in historic Baltimore Street located in the downtown area. It is a wonderful area to walk in and admire the historic buildings and the displays in the store windows. Today we had a snow storm where the snow came down from the sky pretty much all day. In the evening I was out driving and saw this scene of the street where I used to live.
We have had a lot of snow storms and cold weather this winter and many events have been cancelled. Last week the local school district only held classes on 1 day out of 5. For 2 Sundays in a row the church I attend has cancelled worship due to the wind, cold temperatures, and snow. People in the area who don’t like snow and cold are getting “fed up” with the continuation of winter weather.
I have been reminded as I have heard their comments of one of the more famous prayers that have been prayed in Christian Churches.
If we can pray the Prayer of St. Francis and let it fill our hearts and minds, then we can survive winter and thoroughly enjoy the warm weather that Spring is sure to bring! Amen!
Today I spent over 2 hours of my day working on two different projects where the time I spent will never be noticed by those see the result of the preparation. At the end of the day when I had to divide my work hours into the statistical form we use to track out work I was amazed at how much time I had spent doing what to some was “invisible” work.
I am not alone in this line of invisible work. For every front line contact patients receive there are a whole host of people behind the scenes working to make sure things are all properly lined up for their encounter. So today I want to commend all readers who regularly involve themselves in behind the scenes preparations that do attract a lot of attention or thought by those who benefit from them.
Today our Pastoral Care Department in cooperation with the Roman Catholic Priest offered an ecumenical Ash Wednesday Service with Imposition of Ashes to our Employees, Visitors, and the few patients who could come to our Chapel for the service. In addition the ashes were delivered to nearly every department in the hospital. My assignment was to visit the offices in our building across the street from the hospital which houses offices for many departments. People were surprised that even though they were not located in the hospital that the hospitality of bringing the ashes to them was being extended.
During the day I also learned of two patient deaths. Those deaths brought an enhanced sense of reality to the words, “Remember from dust you came and to dust you shall return.” Those are the words I had spoken as I made the mark of the cross on some of the foreheads of the people I saw earlier in the day. The tradition of imposing ashes took on new meaning as I was seeing people fulfill the words I had spoken several hours earlier. It was a good experiential demonstration to me that we must be ready to trust on the promises of God every day.
We are in the process of selecting a topic for the 2015 Institute on Medicine and Religion hosted by the hospital each year. We have been looking for a topic that would help us build on the effort began in 2014 with our focus on “Bridges out of Poverty”. This week we looked at one aspect of the “Blue Zones” concept of community. The quality of “Blue Zones” we looked at is the happiness measure. On their webpage they have a 4 minute test you can take to get specific suggestions on how you can increase your own happiness based on answers to the questions. Here is the link if you want to take the test yourself: http://apps.bluezones.com/happiness/
The test is based on which behaviors are effective in making us happy in the long haul and which behaviors provide happiness that is not long-lasting. It was helpful for me to see what changes I need to make. Here are few of the suggestions the test gave me even though I scored highly on the scale, I still have room to improve:
Spend more time with people and less time with computers & televisions.
Do not eat foods for the main purpose of feeling better. (Twinkies make me feel better but an apple or orange is much healthier for me to eat.)
Get enough sleep. (I fall 1 hour short each night on the ideal sleep level recommended for my age and gender.)
The good thing about the test is it gave me concrete things I can do rather than goals with no way to implement them. How will this work over the long haul? I don’t know. I had decided to work on these goals as part of my Lenten Discipline of self-denial and reliance on God. So I will report back to you after Easter to see how I did. I invite you to pray for me as I make this journey through Lent with a “homework assignment”.
This past weekend I had the chance to tour Appomattox Court House while I was traveling in Lynchburg, VA. I knew from history classes that this was the site of the surrender of the South to the North, thus ending our Civil War. The tour pointed out to us that when Generals Lee and Grant met to negotiate the terms of surrender that Grant representing the Army that was victorious did not set out to humiliate those who were on the losing side of the battle.
The terms were as generous as Lee could hope for; his men would not be imprisoned or prosecuted for treason. Officers were allowed to keep their side arms. In addition to his terms, Grant also allowed the defeated men to take home their horses and mules to carry out the spring planting and provided Lee with a supply of food rations for his starving army; Lee said it would have a very happy effect among the men and do much toward reconciling the country.
After one of the most tragic divisions in our country was closing those who were on the Confederate side were not punished. They were treated as Americans and welcomed into a renewed United States of America. If the wars that are being fought these days could be resolved in a way that was not punitive to the losing side, perhaps some of these wars could be ended before any more blood is shed on either side.
This may be too optimistic, but it is my prayer for our world the future we are moving into each day.
My title is “Staff Chaplain” at the health system. This title was probably created to differentiate me from the “Director of Pastoral Care”; our department is small consisting of 1 director and 1 Staff Chaplain. The majority of my time is devoted to care for patients and visitors. In the past several days I have had pastoral care encounters with other employees of the health system. I enjoyed these encounters to much I almost wish my title “Staff Chaplain” was an indication that the majority of my time was devoted to providing pastoral care to our employees.
Our employees work diligently, many of them giving 110% of their energy to their task. While they take their work seriously they still have a life outside the boundaries of the health system. In these relationships sometimes they need the opportunity to share what is happening in a safe environment with a person they know won’t share their struggle throughout the whole health system. I am honored that I am trusted by the employees enough that they see me as that safe person. Recently one employee told me she was impressed that, “I always know what to say.” I am very glad she feels that way toward me, but trust me there are many times I am at a loss for words. So today I salute our employees and pray for their lives when they are not providing care for our patients.
