Chaplain George Burn on building bridges from within

Chaplaincy: Also Caring for the Spirit of the Organization

A recent remarkable occurrence at my hospital reminded me of the need for us to care for the entire Spirit of the organization we serve, as well as the patients and family members.

One of our employees, who is dearly loved by the staff of the hospital, was in surgery when her husband, who was in the waiting room, collapsed in front of their special needs adult child. The son got help and the father was temporarily resuscitated, but died soon after being taken to the emergency room.

While one of our staff members stayed with the son, a group of us gathered, wondering how we would tell our employee when she woke up. The head of our lab called me and said, "Her son asked that the rabbi be present when she is told." Our employee was not actively involved in the local synagogue and had not met the rabbi. However, because of my long-time relationship with the clergy in the community, I had developed a friendship with this rabbi and so I called him and explained the situation. He immediately came over.

The operating surgeon said that when she came out of anesthesia, he would tell her. The rabbi, I, and other staff members stood by. After her initial grief reaction, she looked at the rabbi and said, "I want him buried in Philadelphia with my parents." The rabbi’s presence had given her direction immediately. We then brought the body into the recovery room area for her to see her husband. The special needs son was also informed by his mother there.

The next day we began to sort through our options for a service, since Jewish burial is within twenty-four hours. Unfortunately, our employee would be unable to attend any services held in the near future. Then we hit upon the idea of having the service at our hospital. The entire next day I worked on plans for them to have the service in our conference rooms. I explained to the staff, who were staggered by the events of the week, that this was our way of helping her to recover and to provide an opportunity for her friends to be with her. The rabbi told us that Jewish law allows for these special circumstance and delays in burials, so we went ahead with plans to have the funeral at the hospital.

On Sunday morning, five days after the death, we had one hundred people attend his funeral. The body was present, and the hospital staff did amazing things...food and beverages were provided, environmental services set up the room according to the layout we had requested, and my secretary made signs directing people into the conference rooms from outside. Security made certain that the back doors were open.

Nursing made arrangements for the widow’s hair to be done up nicely and helped dress her in a beautiful dress. Our nursing supervisor and I had been concerned about the florescent lighting and the harshness of it, so the two of us, along with some men from maintenance, scouted out some incandescent lighting for the front of the room (including a floor lamp from my office). The rabbi did a wonderful job of leading the service, inviting family and friends to share their remembrances. And, amazingly, the patient’s other son, who serves on the police force in Virginia, had an honor guard drive three-and-a half hours to stand outside the room.

This tragedy provided an opportunity for the hospital family to give to our employee and to build a bridge back to her faith tradition and her rabbi. The end result was that the hospital felt good about what we pulled together to provide. And, the CEO threw in flowers.

The family was overwhelmed by the love and support they had received, and the hospital family gave one of their own a very special gift of appreciation.

Our work takes us in many directions and sometimes requires us to be creative, while at the same time, honoring faith traditions and family needs, whether they are related family or hospital family. Working to provide the best care for a patient or family member enables us to care for the spirit of our organization in ways that we sometimes cannot even imagine.

Do you have thoughts about professional practice you’d like to share with your colleagues? Send an e-mail info@PlainViews.org.