Re: The Organ Donation Process as Spiritual Care, Oran Lee and Karrie Oertli (PlainViews, 10/17/07, Vol. 4, No. 18)
I wonder if I'm the only one who noticed a possible logical inconsistency in the article "The Organ Donation Process as Spiritual Care." The authors detailed how the chaplaincy service responded to a COO initiative to increase a hospital's donation rate. At the end of the article the authors state that "chaplains offer unbiased support for families in making donation decisions." Could not the desire to be seen by administration as helping increase the donation rate be in conflict with offering "unbiased support for families in making donation decisions"?
Jon Altman, Chaplain
Southern Care Hospice
Jackson, MS
I was delighted to read of Chaplains Lee and Oertli involvement with Organ Donation at their hospital. I too was active in the early days of the Breakthrough Collaborative, and helped make consent rates increase at my hospital. Now, as a Chaplain employed by an Organ Procurement Organization, I have been excited by the involvement of Spiritual Care in increasing organ and tissue consent rates across the country. Chaplains have become an important voice for stewardship, ethics, and compassionate care for donor families as well as policy development and implementation. And Chaplains can play a critical, clinical role in the areas of rapid referral, rounding, and clinical triggers. Chaplains are helping to save lives through organ and tissue donation, and should be proud of their record of achievement in this area.
I will be offering a workshop entitled "The Chaplain's Role in Organ and Tissue Donation" at the 2008 APC Conference in Pittsburgh. I hope many more Chaplains will attend and become advocates for this important ministry.
Rev. Donald B. Stouder, M.Div., PCS
Family Services Chaplain
Lifesharing Organ & Tissue Donation
San Diego, CA
In the discussion of what the chaplain’s role should be in the organ donation process the perennial question, of course, has to do with the perception that people might have of the chaplain who is a requestor. Does a grieving family perceive the chaplain as being truly “unbiased” when the chaplain actively advocates for the donation? We know that people bring to their encounter with a chaplain their preconceived notions about clergy roles, clergy authority and other clergy “stuff.” Is the chaplain requestor able to assure that the family member perceives no coercion when the chaplain is the one requesting donation? Increasing the donation rate to 89% is a tremendous testimony to the effectiveness and hard work of the team that was assembled. I would hope that chaplains would always be a part of such a team. On the other hand, I also wonder if chaplains might sometimes diminish the opportunity to be pastoral by being a requestor.
Stan Jones
Chaplain Coordinator
Methodist Hospital
Clarian Health Partners
Indianapolis, IN
It is with some uneasiness that I read several articles about organ donations. The key issue with cadaveric donors is to be sure that you are not harvesting an organ from a person who is still living. The definition of death becomes very important. There have been a number of heinous incidents in which a vulnerable patient was "helped along" in the dying process. There are also those who would really stretch the definition of death to the point where no person would be safe in a hospital or nursing home.
Rabbi Louis J. Feldman, Ph.D.
Retired Chaplain
Board Member
Scholl Institute of Bioethics
Los Angeles, CA
Re: Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land, Gary Batchelor (PlainViews, 10/3/07, Vol. 4, No. 17)
I just wanted to say thanks to Gary Batchelor for his article in PlainViews--it was well written and provided a well-reasoned counter-point to Harding's article. There are many of us professional chaplains who went through large CPE programs and then on to a multi-staff chaplaincy department that fail to understand the needs and the reality of the one-person departments. It is always sobering to catch a glimpse of the daily burdens and blessings that chaplains experience in such a setting. In our broad statements of what chaplaincy is and should be, we often fail to take full account of the variety of our settings and that one shoe does not fit all. A "whine" from one perspective is a lamentation from another, which has a cathartic value, a theological point, and a socio-political agenda: just ask Jeremiah--a one-person prophetic department!
Well done!
Mark LaRocca-Pitts, PhD, BCC
Staff Chaplain
Athens Regional Medical Center
Athens, GA
Very well said. This reminded me of the days when I WAS a one person department, trying to be all things to all people at all hours. Everything Gary said can be applied to a multi-chaplain staff who often are trying to educate a constantly changing staff as to who we are and what we do. Thanks also for the reminder of our calling, which can often get lost in the shuffle of daily demands.
Blessings,
Larry M. Connelly, MDiv., BCC
Director of Spiritual Care Services
Piedmont Hospital
Atlanta, Ga
Re: My First Chaplain, Lyn Brakeman (PlainViews, 10/3/07, Vol. 4, No. 17)
I was deeply moved by Lyn Brakeman's article, both as a result of her courage in writing it, and as someone who has experienced a similar dark journey with a childhood experience. Her article reminds us that images of God are deeply effected, as was mine, by the loss of trust and safety that can accompany such events. It is not something we are inclined to search out in our pastoral care and it is rare that those experiences come to light in most of the brief encounters that chaplains often have with patients. It is even rarer when people take the time, the expense, and the journey to find their way into a new sense of self after such events. But having journeyed through it, I encourage those who have not, to begin the search. It certainly helps us to travel lighter.
Chaplain George Burn
Mount Nittany Medical Center
State College, PA
Thank you, Lyn, for sharing your ever-present God and all the relationships of your life that did not measure up but, indeed, formed you and your faith. I had a similar childhood and companionship with God, and I appreciated hearing you articulate yours.
Blessings,
Ruth Brooks
psychiatric chaplain
Yale New Haven Hospital
New Haven, CT
Re: "Chaplain, Take Me Away," Angelo Betancourt (PlainViews, 10/3/07, Vol. 4, No. 17)
Chaplain Angelo Betancourt is right when he speaks about the stress levels among hospital personnel. It is facing the reality of life, very special that is the case in long term care facilities, where Nurses are not only dealing with a shortage of personal. There other factors which do play a very big role. People in these places are doing the very best possible job. It makes it even harder when they deal with people who in no way have the capability to express themselves. And in these places there are a great number of people who do not know how to put their feelings and thoughts into words. For personnel that can be stressful. They do need a source where they can express their frustration. The most appropriate person may well be the hospital chaplain. It is not so much a matter of giving advice, but more a matter of finding a release valve, and a place to speak about their frustration. The Chaplain’s role is a matter of hearing what people are telling him/her. The key point in all means of counseling is hearing what people are telling you.
With my greetings and prayer,
John Flipsen
Volunteer pastoral worker
Edmonton, AB,Canada
Re: A Silent Retreat and a Missing Thumb, Charles Lopez, Jr. (PlainViews, 10/3/07, Vol. 4, No. 17)
I did read the article on silent retreats and how enlightening it can be. I also did twice a guided silent retreat at Queens House in Saskatoon, Sask., Canada. Both retreats were based upon the spirituality of John of the Cross. In the morning there was a talk about the named spirituality by Fr Ronald Rolheiser, OMI. After the talk it was dead silence. And it must be said this priest is very good in leading retreats. On this spirituality he has written a number of books, such as The Restless Heart, Holy Longing, Forgotten Among the Lilies. This last book is short articles which he has written over the number of years. And if I am well informed the priest writes in some 60 different papers all around the world: England, a number of papers in Canada, Ireland, Australia, the US, and so on . He also is a speaker for many conferences. At the present time he is the President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX. I hope that this information is useful to PlainViews readers.
With greetings and prayer,
John Flipsen
Volunteer pastoral worker
Edmonton, AB,Canada
A request for chaplains in Africa!
All chaplains engage in the practicing of chaplaincy in the continent of Africa should please send their names, addresses, e-mail address, and telephone numbers to us at Global chapliancy corps. e-mail- evangelicalpentecostalism@yahoo.com for co-ordination and further information.
Archbishop David Mike Jacobs
Lagos - Nigeria, West Africa
A Listserv for CPE Supervisors-in-Training
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CPESITS/ is a forum for CPE Supervisors-in-Training to discuss all things related to the process of becoming a CPE Supervisor. This may include theory papers, committee meetings, theology, disappointments, celebrations, etc. It is limited to current SITs and those that have been out of an SIT program for up to two years, whether or not they were certified.
The Rev. David W. Fleenor
Moderator, CPE SIT Listserv
On wearing a chaplain's uniform
Allow me to submit that the wearing of a chaplain uniform definitely defines one’s role and respect among the health care team in the hospital or hospice caregiving system. In the opening of our new geropsych, rehab and medical detox units of our hospital I started out wearing a Chaplain’s Clinical jacket akin to the physician jacket. With it came immediate recognition for my role and the accompanying respect from all medical staff for my position.
With it was developed a “Spiritual Assessment” and a procedure for making Spiritual Care referrals that was “passed” by the administration for immediate approval and use. Of course, I had to submit a letter offering the rationale for chaplaincy services to permeate the entire health services delivery to facilitate this action.
I believe it was the work of the Holy Spirit that promoted this effort and now allows the staff, patients and family members to have immediate access to solid spiritual care delivery.
Respectfully,
J. Russell, M. Div.
Coastal Plains Hospital
Corpus Christi, TX
On being in competition with "professional" chaplains
Dear Editor of PlainViews: First of all I do thank you that as a volunteer chaplain that I prescribed to your web mail. This is a terrific source of information and sharing of views and experiences. I do work in along term care facility here in the City. My experience with those who are" professionals" have a tendency to do everything themselves. For quite some time I did visit a Gentleman we talked about a good number of issues, personal, worldview and others. But after every discussion we prayed or shared a scripture reading, and than prayed about the passage. Last week this gentleman passed away. Was I told about this, absolutely not. Reason - privacy of the person. If we drive privacy this far than all means of communication fails to do justice to the ministry. There is a tendency to drive privacy too far. I also could be a means that the "professional" uses this for his own job protection. I have a feeling that I am in constant competition with the" professional". As Christians we have to look at the model that Jesus left behind. And that is so far from any means of competition. The model he left for us is "Being of Service."
Thank you
John Flipsen
Re: Health Care through a Theological Lens, Keith Goheen (PlainViews, 8/15/07, Vol. 4, No. 14)
In this article, Chaplain Goheen raises an issue about Healthcare in the United States--who does or does not receive good care and who pays for it. Any of us working in the healthcare field these days are forced to grapple with these issues. I know I do. It concerned me that in reference to Michael Moore's movie "Sicko" and the health systems in Canada, France and Cuba, that there seemed to a pretty one-sided "whole cloth" presentation of the issues. There are genuine critiques of these other systems, not the least by those who receive care in them, that deserve honest attention just as their merrits do. Also, Michael Moore is not generally known for the objectivity with which he looks at issues. If I believe I am being propogandized, it tends to turn me off. If our country's system is going to change, it is going to change, I believe, through an honest, full-bore debate of all the issues and values involved. If we are going to move in a more socialist direction, which is the health system change being advocated, we need to be honest about the costs and liabilities involved as well as well as the benefits.
Don Moore
Staff Chaplain
University of Virginia Health Systems
Charlottesville, Virginia
I like how Keith framed our healthcare system in terms of theology,
especially around the issue of the individual (salvation/cure) versus
the collective/communal (salvation/cure). This divide can be traced
through much of our western religious heritage and it makes sense that
the most individually based soteriology as expressed in American
religious ethos would also give expression to the most individually
based healthcare system. Keith has provided me a new framework to
reflect on these issues. Thanks.
Chaplain Mark LaRocca-Pitts
Staff Chaplain
Athens Regional Medical Center
Athens, GA
Re: Confiding Trust, Stephen Harding (PlainViews, 8/1/07, Vol. 4, No. 13)
I thought that Rev. Harding’s poem "Confiding Trust" was lovely. Maybe lovely is not the right word. Meaningful is more appropriate. Most of my chaplaincy is palliative care and bereavement. I am often at the bedside witnessing a family's grief or helping the Child Life Specialist making hand prints as a memorial.
"…the unnatural moving of your child's hand. . . "
Sometimes another author's words help express one's feelings. Thank you for sharing this experience as it has helped to frame my own.
Rabbi Mollie Cantor
Pediatric Chaplain
Mount Sinai Medical Center
New York, NY
Seeking others who work in Trauma
Is there anyone out there who works exclusively in Trauma Units?
My responsibility is for the ER, Burn Unit and Trauma ICUs. I'd love to
network with anyone else who does this kind of ministry, as its
circumstances seem rather unique.
Feel free to contact me at work at (914) 493-7125 or dsprb@optonline.net
Doug Phillips
Westchester Medical Center
Valhalla, NY
Your Pastoral Counseling Skills Are Needed to Assist and Support
Returning TROOPS AND THEIR FAMILIES
Give an Hour is a nonprofit organization (formed by psychologist,
Barbara Romberg, PH.D), whose mission is to develop a national network
of volunteers capable of responding to both acute and chronic
conditions that arise within our society. They are initially
focusing on the U.S. troops and families who are being affected by
the current military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Large numbers
of veterans are returning home from Iraq finding that they must cope
with a wide range of psychological difficulties.
A national network of mental health professionals has been created
who are giving an hour of their time each week to provide free mental
health services to military personnel and their families.
Over the past 20 months, Give an Hour has developed important
relationships with many Veterans' Service Organizations including the
Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, the American Legion Auxiliary,
TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), the National Gulf
War Resource Center and Vets 4 Vets. As a result of these
relationships, mental health professionals will have opportunities to
work with volunteers from these organizations to co-lead support
groups and participate in community events. This is an opportunity
for AAPC members to join a program that will provide critical
services to these deserving men, women and families.
Thus far, over 425 professionals from the mental health community
have registered to participate in this critical effort. Professionals
are being asked to provide the type of services they currently
provide in their offices. While no additional training is required, a
variety of training opportunities are offered to those individuals
who might be interested. In addition, participants will have the
opportunity to interact with each other, to share information about
their experience and to seek feedback and additional resources.
Give an Hour has asked providers to participate in its network for
at least one year in order to provide continuity of care for these
deserving families. Providers have the opportunity to change their
status on the network from "available" to "full" while working with
an individual or family. This prevents providers from receiving
requests from individuals if their time is filled.
As a nonprofit organization, Give an Hour carries liability insurance
that covers its volunteer providers. Providers should, however, also
maintain their individual malpractice insurance while participating
in their network.
If you are a certified member of AAPC or a licensed mental health
professional, please visit the Web site at http://www.giveanhour.org/cms/index.php to
learn more about this organization. To sign up, on the web site, to
be part national network click on "please do so", which is in the parapraph entiteld "Join Us." Volunteers are also
welcome who want to join in developing and implementing this
project.
The need is great.
Thank you.
Doug Ronsheim
AAPC Executive Director
Re: A Neonatal Service of Love and Remembrance, Sharon A. Frank (PlainViews, 7/18/07, Vol. 4, No. 12)
I just want to thank Chaplain Sharon Frank for her willingness to share the memorial service she created for the NICU patient/family. What awesome resources we could compile if everyone was willing to share their creative efforts (and we could stop trying to reinvent the wheel)!
Karen Gorski
Pastoral Care Coordinator/Chaplain
Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital
Wyandotte, MI
I read the neonatal service submitted by Chaplain Sharon Frank ("A Neonatal Service of Love and Remembrance) with appreciation, especially because it was not Christocentric and therefore is widely useful. I would like to let the readers of PlainViews know about the web site sponsored by Kolot:The Center for Jewish Women's and Gender Studies - www.ritualwell.org. You need only register to use the site, to share your ritual or to browse thousands of Jewish rituals. I think this resource should be very helpful for chaplains.
Rabbi Dr. Susan Zengerle (Cowchock)
Wyncote, PA
Re: Can anyone ear your prophetic voice?: the ethics of speaking up, Nancy Berlinger (PlainViews, 7/5/07, Vol. 4, No. 11)
As a chaplain who is a Reform rabbi, that prophetic call for social justice is a major emphasis of my denomination. For young rabbinical students, being that prophetic voice often translates into "in-your-face" pursuits such as protests and rallies and confrontations. As we gracefully age and enter the real world, being that prophetic voice takes on nuance, subtlety and diplomacy. Interactions that I might have viewed as "selling out" in my 20's now, instead, seem to reflect wisdom. I do believe that patient advocacy is a necessary piece of our work within a health care system that can sometimes drown out the weakened voices of the ill and wounded. And when I feel that need to advocate within the hospital setting, I always take the time to plan a strategy: a way to verbally frame a request so that it is clear that staff will receive some benefit from the action taken; that making a change will make things easier for the nurses, the hospital, the physician. I believe we need to give staff the benefit of the doubt, present concerns with respect, and always make sure staff members can easily save face. The advocacy side of chaplaincy is more of a delicate negotiation among parties, and we are successful if everyone involved feels heard and respected.
Laura Rappaport
Staff Chaplain
St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center
Boise, Idaho
Nancy’s response to Laura:
I think your analysis is correct: a generalized call for justice may make the "prophet" feel good, but doesn't describe who is responsible for and capable of doing what. Framing justice in terms of its actions and consequences may move the project forward, by showing responsible parties how it is possible to be more fair, to distribute resources more equitably, to be more responsive to the needs of one's community, and so on.
And you recognize that making justice for the ill and wounded is not accomplished through shame. (Although making justice may involve holding staff accountable for unjust actions, if that's the problem.) And while change is not easy, one consequence of making concrete changes in the interest of justice may be that staff recognize and are proud that they are part of an institution that is working to treat patients fairly: this has been the case with institutions that have done a really good job of changing how they care for patients injured through medical error, for example.
You may be interested in a recent editorial by John Buchanan, editor of The Christian Century, in which he advises new clergy to use a pastoral voice when preaching prophetically: to acknowledge their own difficulties in figuring out how to treat people fairly and make their institutions and communities agents of social justice. Here's the link: http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=3512
Re: Living and Dying with Hope, Jane Babin (PlainViews, 7/5/07, Vol. 4, No. 11)
I have been a Healthcare Chaplain (Hospital and Hospice) and have journeyed with many people. I was touched deeply by Jane's article, Living and Dying with Hope. I found her article captured the reality of what she is going through but also the hope that can be found in the midst of even the most difficult times in life. She has chosen courage and she is seeing with new eyes! I am hoping to share her story with those that come to our center so that they can also find hope. Thank you Jane for finding that there is a way to still grow and reach out to others.
God Bless,
Rev. Liz Danielsen, Chaplain
Spiritual Care Support Ministries, Inc.
Warrenton, VA
I have just read the July 18th submission for LongView from Jane Babin. Thank-You!! To bear witness to a life lived is…a must. Please keep before us, your readers, such living witnesses of life lived.
Chaplain Brent Adams, MDiv, DMin, BCC
Coordinator of Spiritual Care
John Muir Behavioral Health Center
Concord, CA
What a beautiful article. I was just working with my first ALS resident ~ what a joy and what a journey for both of us. I can feel and hear Jane’s hope in her article and, yes, she is a powerful contributor to life. Thank you Jane!
June Laraway
Resident Chaplain
Beatitudes Campus
Phoenix, AZ
Re: Being Mindful of our Words, Sue Wintz (PlainViews, 7/5/2007, Vol. 4, No. 11 )
Being a night chaplain, I often have the privilege of reading PlainViews in the quiet hours of the early morning. This issue is a wonderful issue; I believe there was 'something for me' in every article. I was especially drawn into Sue Wintz' thoughts on the 'lost' euphemism for death, and the way she embraced to concept of 'renewed wholeness' as an unattainable place. I fully affirm her depth of understanding. As I read the article, my mind whisked back to a didactic experience in my residency. One of my peers was reviewing a book [the title gone from my memory]. In his discussion, my peer used the phrase, 'like looking through a new pair of glasses.' I found this phrase inviting and enlightening and have used it many times in my ministry. I offer this as another change of language. Thanks Sue for sharing your thought and your vulnerability.
James Yoder
Staff Chaplain
Pitt County Memorial Hospital
Greenville, NC
Re: God's Mysterious Mercy, Mark LaRocca-Pitts (PlainViews, 7/5/2007, Vol. 4, No. 11 )
Thank you to Rev. Mark LaRocca-Pitts for his reflection on God's mysterious mercy.
I heartily resonate with Mark's reflection, for I have often tried to describe the same theme, although never as eloquently. I have been chaplain in a psychiatric facility for 17 years, so clearly we ask the 'why' question frequently.
I am also aware that this view of God is profoundly different than the view of God that I grew up with, even though it was in an evangelical setting. The substitutionary atonement theory that was preached in my formative years left me feeling that God is removed from the pain and anguish of human experience. He was even removed from the pain and suffering of his own Son.
My question is for the church historians amongst our readers. Are there clearly identified periods in church history when people have held a view of a God who takes upon himself our suffering as opposed to the God who is outside human experience? Are there some writers whose writings reflect that view?
Lorne Friesen
Eden Health
Manitoba, Canada
Re: Living and Dying with Hope, Jane Babin (PlainViews, 7/5/2007, Vol. 4, No. 11 )
I hope that this is not too self-serving, but the personal reflective and also wise essay by Jane Babin contributes so much to the business of chaplaincy and pastoral ministry. I like the LongView and the occasional respite from the purely informational. (Maybe it's my age!) Research and academics and scholarship have an important place in our growth, but nowhere is it written that personal, and thus political, essays do not do the same. May I also say that something that makes me weep or wince or rage or laugh reminds me that I am alive, aware and in love with the God whose grace covers the whole enchilada from womb to cross to tomb and beyond—and everything in between.
Rev. Lyn Brakeman
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Responses to BioethicsWalk, Being Present in the Grey Area, June 6, 2007
Nancy Berlinger - you go girl! I'll keep reading anything you write about Chaplains! Reading about what we do or don't do is the way we learn. Even though I've been retired now for 6 years, I still want to read about what we do and how we can do it better. Go girl!!! Tell it the way you see it.
Jerry Kolb
The article in the Journal of Pastoral Care and Counselling by Carey and Newell on the Economic benefit of the chaplain should not be overlooked when advocating for chaplaincy services.
Carl Aiken
Chaplain
Women's and Children's Hospital
North Adelaide, South Australia
In "Being Present in the Grey Area," Ms. Berlinger claims to have developed "a much more nuanced, more clinically grounded understanding of chaplains and chaplaincy" yet paints chaplains in very broad strokes. However, her broad generalizations certainly give any chaplain pause if this is how chaplains are generally perceived.
Linda F. Piotrowski, MTS, NACC Certified
Pastoral Care Coordinator/Chaplain
Palliative Care/Norris Cotton Cancer Center
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
Lebanon, NH
Responses to the letter sent
out about the changes in PlainViews (June
5, 2007)
Good work in helping to make "PlainViews" the
highly successful and widely read journal
that it has become. The content is
serious and helpful, the dialogue is
good mostly, and the thoughts that
are provoked have enhanced my own work
in Pastoral Care. Congratulations to
those who serve to supervise/edit the
written word.
Chaplain George Burn
State College, PA
Thank you for the updates regarding PlainViews.
I have been reading PlainViews for
the past couple of years and have found
it extremely helpful to me and my ministry.
Michael Adamson
Marshfield, WI
Wonderful ideas! I look forward to
the new PV in coming days
and months.
Stephen King
Seattle, WA
What great news that you all are continuing
to grow and evolve. I appreciate your
reminder that any/all of us could write
an article and I'll try to do that...
Many thanks,
Caroline Patterson
What great plans! Thanks for keeping
it up to date and fresh!
Anne Murphy
Evanston, IL
Congratulation on your new format
and new contributors. I look forward
to receiving your future issues and
I hope to enjoy them as much as I have
the past issues.
Rabbi Benjamin Samson
New York
This is quite an undertaking but definitely
worth all the effort and ideas you
have. Please keep it coming.
Janet Anderson
These are great enhancements to PV.
You’re doing a superb job!
Robert A. Kidd
Houston, TX
Thank you for the information on the
changes being made to PlainViews.
Although I am not currently working
as a chaplain, I was introduced to PlainViews while
working my first unit of CPE. I am
currently a volunteer coordinator in
a long-term care facility and find
that some of the articles contain information
I can use either personally or
professionally. At some point in the future, I hope to be employed in some
form of chaplaincy and look forward to all the PlainViews has to offer.
Perhaps I would even consider contributing an article some time.
Thank you for a wonderful resource.
Lynne McMullan Allebach
Thanks for your diligence in sending
us the PlainViews e-publication.
Thanks,
Noel Tiano
Reno, NV
Thank you for the great work.
Appreciatively,
David C. Baker
Hagerstown, MD
THANKS, THANKS, THANKS for PlainViews.
I love it.
Martha Lindley
Thank you for all that you are doing
for your readers. I always look forward
to reading each issue - learning more
so that I can give more to the patients
and their families that the Lord God
brings into my life.
Sincerely,
Louise M. Hutchinson
Pawtucket, RI
Thank you for your hard work, patience
and persistence to make PlainViews
available and meaningful to our profession.
I will start being more active especially
in submitting some articles.
Solomon Kendagor
Saint Louis, MO
Glad to hear about these changes.
I am particularly excited about the
1500 word “longer”submission
possibility.
Keep up the good work!
Glenn A. Robitaille
Penetanguishene, ON
Thank you for the informative update
and plans for the future. I wish you
well in these important endeavours.
It is an enjoyable read. Thanks again
for what must amount to an incredible
amount of work on behalf of your colleagues
in far-flung places.
Yours,
David Morrison
Charlottetown, Canada
Thank you exceedingly for your great
work! PlainViews is extraordinary.
Rolf Brende
Greeley, CO
Thanks so much for all of these additions
and helps. especially appreciate the
offering of CCEs for reading each issue.
Jennie Malewski
Kansas City, MO
I just want to say how wonderful these
changes sound - and thank you so much
for your work.
Charlotte White
Hamden, CT
Thank you for sending me PlainViews.
It is good to have such valuable information
coming to me regularly.
S. Gail Fox
Toronto, Ontario
A question about staff care
in a hospital setting
For a long time I have been concerned
about staff and care of staff in the
hospital setting. I am interested in
knowing what other hospitals are doing
with respect to Care of Healthcare
Workers by Spiritual and Religious
Care Departments.
Thank you!
S Gail Fox
Professional Practice Leader and Chaplain
Spiritual and Religious Care Department
Toronto East General Hospital
Toronto, Ontario
Re: Are You at Risk?, Martha R. Jacobs (PlainViews, 5/16/2007, Vol. 4, No. 8 )
Read the article "are you at risk?" --- Very interesting and moving. A friend of mine works on research with survivors and rescue workers. He recommended calling the following number for any services: 888-702-0630
Best,
Reverend Angelika A. Zollfrank
Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor and Chaplain
Chaplaincy Department
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA
In addition to your thoughful suggestion to register for workers compensation I strongly recommend also to apply for the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program:212/241-1554 or 888/702-0630.
As a volunteer for the Red Cross, I have been part of it since the early days: they keep track every 18 months or so by providing extensive testing (general exams, breathing tests and a review with recommendations by a physician).
Liso Starrett
Chaplain
New York, NY
Re: Toxic Humor, Anne Underwood (PlainViews, 5/2/2007, Vol. 4, No. 7)
I am grateful for Anne Underwood's instructional and cautionary counsel about "Toxic Humor," or "Gallows Humor" as I have called it. This cancerous communication technique has been a haunting ghost in the conscience of my career since I was first introduced to it back in 1964. I was a Chaplain Intern. The voices were those of a nurse and a doctor (an intern). The focus was the weight of the ICU patient who was presumed to have been beyond the realm of hearing what was said. Not so!
The humiliation voiced in a subsequent conversation with the patient was heart-rending. I was torn between relief that I had not joined the "bashing" and chagrin that I had walked out of the room in disgust without calling the "actors" to the corridor for a "conversation" about what I had heard.
I wish I would have had Anne's "Rudimentary Guide" in my brain bank back then. Fortunately, along the way, as the result of many others occasions of sick humor, I bumbled into a plan of action!
Thank you, Anne, for your guide. Number 10 is, indeed, the bottom line for facing Toxic Humor and many other occasions for exemplifying sensitivity with others.
Rev. Jerry J. Griffin, BCC
Lititz, PA
Re: The Chaplain's Motive, Mark LaRocca Pitts, PhD. (PlainViews, 5/2/2007, Vol. 4, No. 7)
I thoroughly enjoyed Mark LaRocca-Pitts’ article on the chaplain’s motive. I am first impressed with his perception in applying a model of rhetoric to our discipline, and then how skillfully he does so! The simple fact of the matter is, if one is a chaplain, he or she will be a chaplain in whatever setting he or she finds oneself. One of the acid tests of any calling is whether or not others see us in that role.
When it comes to the helping professions as a whole, education can augment a deep calling, but it cannot put in what God has left out.
The Rev. Dr. Glenn A. Robitaille, CPC, ASCT, OACCPP
Duty Chaplain
Mental Health Centre Penetanguishene
Penetanguishene, ON
Re: "Haven't You People Done Enough?" Rev. Patricia Wright (PlainViews, 5/2/2007, Vol. 4, No. 7)
I thoroughly enjoyed Chaplain Wright’s article. Thanks for reminding me of a powerful dimension of spiritual care.
Chaplain Wright’s story reminded me of a television show that I have come to respect a great deal lately – The Dog Whisperer.
Now comes the standard disclaimer – don't get offended that I may at some point equate human beings to dogs. God forbid that we should ever give animals any credit or imply that there might be important connections between humans and God's other sentient creations. Such an insult. (Yes, I am being sarcastic and yes, I do get tired of making disclaimers like this one, especially about an animal – dogs – so widely loved and relied upon by human beings).
Well, back to the point . . . Uh, what was it? Oh! Yes! Well, as far as I can tell, the Dog Whisperer's basic lessons are these:
– Calm, assertive presence and do NOT overdo the eye contact.
– No shouting, yelling, whining, simpering or making other loud high pitched noises when you want connect with a dog.
– If you want your dog to change you have to change.
– Patient, consistent application of a few important behaviors yields far more effective results than attempts at one-time cures. If fact, the expectation of a one-time cure usually makes things worse.
Again, thanks for the important reminder.
Mark Grace
Director of Pastoral Care
Dept of Pastoral Care
Baylor Health Care System
Dallas, TX
Re: Garden Communion (PlainViews, 3/21/2007, Vol. 4, No. 4)
An added item to the author's statements: when it is possible, the minister of Communion may also break off only a small piece of the Host to be administered to the person who is sick.
Robert Marzullo
Shoreline, WA
Update from the Ukraine about the Palliative Care Task Force
Let us inform you that on February 23, 2007 in conference-hall of Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Ukraine the next meeting of the Palliative Care Task Force was held. The Task Force was created accordingly to the Order of Minister of health of Ukraine (# 201, issued on July 6, 2006). In the meeting representatives of the Ministry of Health, Association of palliative care, Association of medical workers NGO, All-Ukrainian Council for patient rights and safety, hospices of Ukraine, representatives of local administration, spiritual leaders took part. Also, representatives of the European Association of Palliative care, hospices from Romania and Moldova participated in the meeting of the Task Force and made important and useful notions. They arrived in Ukraine being invited by Association of medical workers NGO.
In his speech Minister of the Labor and Social Affairs M.Papiew drew attention to the acute necessity to develop palliative care in Ukraine, whch is backed by the aging of the population, and enormous number of AIDS and cancer cases in Ukraine. Also, Minister Papiew underlined, that effective palliative care allows improvement in the life quality in the final period. But the main barrier for development of the palliative care in Ukraine is absence of approval by Government National Conception of the palliative care development in Ukraine, lack of qualified staff and lack of experience in palliative care provided according to the international standards. An important condition for effective development of palliative care, declared the Minister, is the collaboration of state organizations with non-governmental organizations, which could be proved by the experience of many European countries.
Leading experts of the Ministry of Social Affairs as well as Ministry of Health, heads of hospices and local authorities, foreign guests, spiritual leaders supported in their reports the ideas expressed by Minister. Also, they noted the necessity to improve the legal base, and improve of the role of local administrations, providers of palliative care etc.
Is worthy to be mentioned that one of the leading roles in development of palliative care in Ukraine plays non-governmental organizations, firstly, All-Ukrainian Council for patients rights and safety, Association of palliative care, Association of medical workers. Experts of these organizations developed a project of Kyiv Declaration about the collaboration in palliative care, project of the Conception of the development of palliative care in Ukraine. They were presented to members of Palliative care task force, and established partnership with international partners. Also, All-Ukrainian Association of palliative care developed the project of the creating of Palliative care Educational center in Ukraine. That was done in collaboration with Institute of Gerontology of Ukraine.
The minutes of the meeting, if you would like, could be send you in the nearest future.
Best regards,
S.Martyniuk-Gres
Secretary of the Task Force
President of the All-Ukrainian Association of palliative care
Re: Volunteer Chaplains – Yes or No (PlainViews, 12/20/2006, Vol. 3, No. 22)
It is always great to read PlainViews. But what gets to me is the articles about how professional chaplains envy volunteer chaplains. I come to a conclusion that is not the volunteer chaplain that the professional chaplain envy is the word "Volunteer." It seems that this word "volunteer" opens a can of worm and stirs a angry emotion in the chaplaincy field. So, I came up with a suggestion, that is already established in some areas, for all professional chaplain agencies to change the word "Volunteer" to "Community Service."
Miguel Ramos
Hospice Chaplain
Dallas, Texas
Re: Supporting Our Soldiers, Dr. Angie Panos, (PlainViews, 2/21/2007, Vol. 4, No. 2)
Thank you for the great article on PTSD. I am a reserve chaplain who has
been to Iraq for 13 months and returned last September without any bodily
wounds but with images of a desert landscape that at any minute could
erupt in flames and hurt me and my fellow passengers in the convoy.
Another PTSD issue that our readers ought to be aware of is the
discrimination practiced by employers against returning soldiers. Usually
a highly qualified soldier will apply for a job, make it to the interview
and be asked questions concerning his experience and skill.
Then the soldier is asked questions such as: "Can you be recalled to
active duty?" or "Has your time as a soldier affected your ability to work
with others?" or simply "What was it like in Iraq (or Afghanistan)?" Then
for whatever reason the soldier is not offered the position.
Most employers do not realize that this is discrimination under USERRA,
the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act. The only
question that can be legally asked under USERRA is: "What skills did you
acquire in the military that can be used in this position?" If a soldier
has the skills the job announcement requires and is not granted an
interview this can also result in a USERRA claim.
In these instances when the Department of Labor had been contacted and
decided a claim has merit, the employer would be wise to write a check
quickly or offer another job to the soldier because when these claims go
to civil court they usually cost the employer around $25,000 to hire a
lawyer plus around $50,000 to the soldier for each documented offense.
If you are a chaplain ministering to a soldier from the Vietnam Conflict,
the Gulf War or our present conflict and you hear about job discrimination
it would be good to refer the soldier to (http://www.dol.gov/vets) for
further information.
Edward Williamson, BCC
Staff Chaplain
CHRISTUS-St. Patrick Hospital
I wanted to say thanks to Dr. Panos for her article on PTSD. We can't learn enough about this problem facing our troops. I serve as a Chaplain in a long-term care facility, but am married to the Command Chaplain of the Maryland National Guards. The National Guard troops
coming back home after the deployments don't have the same support as the full time military. They come back to a base, but the Guards come back to the community. As such we need to be their support. One of the ways the Maryland National Guards has helped to address this is with Partners in Care. A program that local congregations (Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, other) sign on to help provide support to the area soldiers coming back. If any are interested they have a website www.md.ngb.army.mil/Chaplain/chaplain.htm.
Rev. Sarah Wood Lee, M.Div., B.C.C.,
Chaplain; Renaissance Gardens
Oak Crest
Air Chapel Learning Center has a donation of Psalm 91 Military Edition Books
The book donation has no limits, to the number that we may order. Shipping and handling, for large orders, has also been gifted.
Please pass along our desire to share this blessing of Psalm 91 Military edition books, with our armed forces brothers and sisters.
For military unit mailing, forward the name address and number of books requested to Air Chapel Learning Center: tdyer@mail.airchapel.org.
We will order the books to be shipped directly from printer to the unit. The Unit Chaplain is a good contact to distribute the books.
We are looking forward to sharing this blessing with thousands of our brave service members. Please include our Veterans in VA Hospitals, as we get these books in the best hands.
In His service,
Terry
Chaplain Terry Dyer
Air Chapel Learning Center
Denison, Texas
Re: Book review of Contemporary Catholic Health Care Ethics, Jane Mather (PlainViews, 1/17/2006, Vol. 3, No. 24)
I wanted to thank Chaplain Mather for an excellent review of Contemporary Catholic Health Care Ethics.
I am in my final semester of a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy at Loyola University in Chicago. I started the program four years ago when I was pulled into work on the Ethics Committee, as I know many of you are as well. For many of us, Ethics is a natural fit, building on our studies in Moral Theology/Ethics and a long tradition for many of our faith groups of standing on the side of those most in need of protection.
I have come to believe that the future of Pastoral Care will depend on a deeper understanding of Ethics, as we help patients and families navigate extremely complex situations. Fortunately, there are a number of resources available to us, both at the Masters level and through various conferences. Chaplain Mather does all of us a favor by highlighting a book that blends one theological tradition with the study of ethics as it applies to us in healthcare.
Peace,
donovan
Chaplain D.W. "Donovan"
Manager of Operations
Bon Secours Richmond Pastoral Care
Chaplain Jane Mather has left out nursing in her list of people who work in healthcare and ethics. Please, Chaplains, remember us, help us, teach us. Nurses in every field deal with ethical decisions every day. Simply prioritizing the work load involves ethics.
I am an oncology nurse. I work hospice. I also coordinate a Faith Community Nursing program in multiple institutions and work some cases. I would be lost if it were not for some ethics training and some Chaplains.
Jaclyn M Herzlinger BA BSN OCN CHPN FCN
Response from Jane Mather to Jaclyn
Thank you SO much for your reminder! As a chaplain I cannot ever forget nurses -- they are our life-blood when it comes to collaboration and referrals! And we learn so much from you! However, I agree with you -- this would be a good text for nurses as well, not so much because nurses need the reminding -- they already know instinctively what is right and wrong! But because sometimes it helps to be reinforced in that perspective from an outside source. In my experience, much of what drives ethics (in practice) originates with nursing! I apologize for the omission.
Blessings for your work…we share a common environment and certainly need to keep the dialogue open!
Jane A. Mather
"Multicultural Pastoral Project" Blog Announcement
A new professional blog entitled "Multicultural Pastoral Project" is
running at multipaspro.blogspot.com and is updated by the author of Fortress Press' "Cross-Cultural Counseling." It is intended as a forum for all those interested in cross-cultural pastoral care and counseling.
Dr. Aart van beek
Gold River, CA
Report for 2006 from the Ukraine about palliative care
Regarding the palliative care development as one of the aspects of patients’ rights defense, because it is directed to the reducing of patient’s suffering and improving of his life quality in the final stage of life, All-Ukrainian council for patient’s rights and safety provides very active development of palliative care in Ukraine. This brief report shows what had been done in 2006 by our organization in this direction.
The Program is realized with the support of International Renaissance Foundation
• Learning of the situation about the palliative care services provided in Ukraine was done. The basic information on hospices, palliative care ward in Ukraine was collected.
• The analysis of professional skills in palliative care of 340 medical workers was done. The monitoring of necessity of studying in palliative care abroad was completed. It was helped by the creation of the computer program which enables to learn the professional skills of medical workers. The meetings with Ministry of Labor of Italy concerning the organization of schooling on palliative care of Ukrainian nurses in Italy were done and 15 nurses and nurses’ assistants from Ukraine were sent to Italy for schooling in palliative care.
• The studying of the international experience was done and numerous contacts with leading experts on palliative care from USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Australia, Sweden, France, Poland, Slovak Republic, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, Norway were done. The contacts with European Association of Palliative care were established. Also, collaboration with leading organizations active in palliative care (Open Society Institute for instance) were established as well.
• The Interdisciplinary Task Force on palliative care was created. The Task Force unites representatives of the Ministry of health, Ministry of Labor, different Churches, All-Ukrainian council for patient’s rights and safety, PLHA Network etc. The group unites about 30 Ukrainian and foreign experts.
• The contacts with representatives of the ecumenical Churches, and representatives of the medical chaplaincy from USA, UK, and Bulgaria were done. One of the events dedicated to the World day of hospice and palliative care was the special prayer, organized in the intention of the palliative care in many different Churches of Ukraine.
• The recommendations about the necessary legal changes and some Guidelines and Standards which should regulate activities of hospices and development of palliative care in Ukraine.
• The part was taken in public hearings on public heath and rights of the patients with cancer diseases in Ukraine.
• The negotiations with different organizations which help people with HIV / AIDS were done to take in account the experience of these organizations in palliative care development.
• The Draft Conception of the state policy in palliative care was developed. The realization of it enables the creating of the conditions for the palliative care development in Ukraine.
• The social Guidelines of the palliative care were developed.
• The project and strategy of the First Palliative care Center in Ukraine was created. In the structure of the center would be recourse, educational and methodical centers, as well as stationary and mobile hospices.
• The short-term educational programs of Ukrainian doctors in palliative care facilities in foreign countries were continued by the agreement about the schooling of 2 persons in Lodz region (Poland).
• The establishing of the pilot project of the palliative care in Kharkiw was done. This is unique for Ukraine event because the city council has allocated 600.000 USD for the project. Experts of the All-Ukrainian council for patient’s rights and safety, as well as our partners, took active part in the work of the Task Force in Kharkiw.
• The guidelines on medical chaplaincy were created. The document shall regulate different aspects of the representatives of the Church in palliative care facilities.
• The company on the drawing attention and raise awareness about the palliative care was started. For instance, after the press-conference dedicated to the World hospice and palliative care day (6th October, 2006) 5 articles in Ukrainian mass-media appeared.
For the further information please contact Mr. Alexander Wolf, Palliative care Program Advocacy Director alexander@tb.org.ua
Re: A Community Hospital’s First DCD Case, Rev. Timothy Madison (PlainViews, 1/3/2007, Vol. 3, No. 23)
This was probably the best article I've read yet on the practical aspects of this subject -- and the best article I've read in PlainViews, ever.
Margaret Frenkel Goldstein
New York
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