Deacon Jerry Stoverink makes a cross on the forehead of Pam LaFrance Feb. 14, Ash Wednesday, at Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Festus, Mo. The chaplaincy distributed ashes to many hospital patients that day. Stoverink, a parishioner at Sacred Heart in Crystal City, is in the hospital with heart related issues.
Photo: CNS 
Healthcare chaplaincy and pastoral care are undergoing a process of transformation during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, writes Aron Hegarty
Several leaders in the profession spoke on World Health Day (April 7) about how the nature and delivery of their service, and even the study of the practice, is virtually meeting needs in a crisis.
One of these is Fr John Kelly, Director of Pastoral Care at Tallaght Hospital in Dublin, who told The Irish Catholic of the ways in which chaplaincy is changing.
“It’s a new climate that we are in and a new situation,” he says. “But our work in pastoral care carries on and is supplemented in a different way.
“Supplemented by being with people now through e-chaplaincy and talking to people over the phone to limit, but not do away with, our presence.
“We are working in a field type of hospital situation now and we are trying to respond as best we can through e-chaplaincy.”
He continues: “Chaplaincies are generally small departments of small teams within a large organisation,” says Fr Kelly. “To use resources on a small team, we have now moved towards e-chaplaincy which is providing online conversations.
“We are in a climate where no families can visit a hospital. So what we are doing, while we are with the patient, is we are connecting them with their family and making a phone call to the family, so that we can show them we are with the patient and trying to get them to talk to the family if they are able to.
“Not every patient has a smartphone or access to a phone, so we facilitate chaplaincy in a time of crisis and we are on the frontline of this emergency.”
Chaplaincy, according to Fr Kelly, is “very different” in the present circumstances and gives an example of such a situation where this can be seen.
“You can imagine a family who can’t see their mother because she’s had a stroke or some other situation, and they are hospitialised and the family can’t visit.
“You can imagine how a family would feel that you phoned them when you are with the mother.
“I have prayed, talked and done pastoral care with them,” adds Fr Kelly.
“You can just imagine the tears of joy the family would have that somebody was with their family member and, because we were there, we can either Zoom or have a teleconference with them at the bedside or simply phone the family.”
E-chaplaincy
The online realm, says Fr Kelly, offers patients another means of seeing loved ones in instances where visits, in the physical sense, are rare or, in the current situation, prohibited.
“We are working with all patients, even those who are Covid-19 positive and, virtually or by phone, we bring families to their bedside, so we are supporting the patient and their family in a different way.
“E-chaplaincy, or ‘telechaplaincy’ as I call it, has opened up because of the regulations that have been brought about.
“But it is also being used because there are patients who have no routine visits from family. We though can visit them, and provide soulful, pastoral care for the patient and their family.”
Faithful health workers
Fr Kelly describes the coming together of healthcare and frontline workers as one “big machine”, and assures the faithful they are operating “beyond their capability” to deal with the virus.
“All the professionals here are using the best of their abilities and skills to care for the patients, and all we see is a big machine working,” he says.
“Everybody here (at Tallaght Hospital) is working 100% beyond their capability; it is all ‘hands-on deck’ with people being pulled from every aspect of a hospital to deal with this crisis.”
He adds: “People and healthcare workers of every discipline are all working together in harmony trying to provide the best care, knowing that they are working in an environment where there are people who have been confirmed as Covid-19 positive, knowing we are working in that environment where we are potentially at risk ourselves, to our own colleagues, to our patients and to their families and friends.”
Emotional needs
Times of crisis can be “emotional”, according to Dr Kelly, who says pastoral care is being revised to met these needs online.
“It is very emotionally-charged at times and we are adapting to meet the needs of people through telechaplaincy,” he says.
“But I can only imagine the emotional needs that will be there afterwards because people aren’t able to grieve the way they normally would grieve.”
Fr Kelly adds: “Sometimes family members call into the chaplaincy and say that they can’t visit the ward where their mother or relative is and ask if could we just tell them that they were asking for them. They are very spiritual people, and appreciate prayers and support.”
World Health Day
In his response to what World Health Day represents, Fr Kelly replies: “More than any other year, this year shows how we are all connected with one another.
“It shows the need for resources throughout the world – rich and poor countries, so we are very mindful at this time of our colleagues throughout the world who are providing medical care in a time of crisis.
“The world is united in its response and you can see the outreach, even here locally, someone opened a local school, pulled out all the goggles that students use in the science lab and brought them to the hospital to protect healthcare workers.
“This whole communion of support and of community being responsible and acting to care for each other is very visible. I see people arriving here at the hospital and leaving cleaning material. To see how the larger community is supporting the healthcare sector is beyond comprehension.”
He concludes: “There is a generosity of spirit in the community supporting healthcare and as chaplaincy, we have a part to play in it.”
Rev Paul Robinson, Chaplain at St Luke’s Home in Cork, too feels the response to the crisis is going “really well” and that government regulations have prompted chaplains to work differently.
“We are looking at different ways of being in Church and what we are doing here,” he says.
“We are able to livestream services from our chapel to our residents in their rooms and in their sitting areas as well.
“We are trying to do our pastoral care within the regulations of social distancing and administered in ways which adhere to the guidelines we have been given, so it’s been working differently but quite well.”
Robinson, who came to Ireland in January this year from the UK, feels the Covid-19 outbreak has made healthcare professionals even more aware of working with others.
“It’s a new and different way of working,” he says when asked of the challenges faced working under restrictions due to the crisis.
“What all of us, not just those of us in chaplaincy, have got to be wary of is physical contact; shaking hands, putting a hand on a shoulder to give people that reassurance they need.”
World Health Day, according to Robinson, is about caring for our communities and looking after those who need looking after.
“We would normally give thanks to God for the all the help work that is done and the healing the Church offers,” he says on what the day usually entails.
“This year though our thanks and prayers go out to all those out on the frontline giving care including nurses and healthcare assistants who work in nursing homes and in the community.
“It (World Health Day) is a day of giving thanks for all the good stuff that is going on and for the sheer hard work that people are doing, at the moment especially, but each and every day of their lives.”
Robinson, a rector and Board of Education member in the Diocese of Liverpool, praises the frontline staff in this country for doing an “amazing job”.
“Everybody is doing a fantastic job within the guidance that we have been given,” he says.
“From my experience, I have just seen everybody do a truly amazing job; pulling together, working as a team and just doing the best that they can.
“The people we serve are just taking it in their stride and recognising that things are just a bit different at the moment.
“My prayers and blessings go out to everybody who is working in our healthcare system – be it in hospitals, nursing homes, in the community – who are doing just an amazing job.”
Virtual church
In terms of academia, Rev Dr Thomas Grenham, Assistant Professor of Chaplaincy Studies at Dublin City University (DCU), says there is a growth in the virtual practice and delivery of chaplain work.
“Since the outbreak of the coronavirus and the closure of the university, we are teaching the course online and students are having their placements virtually, through Facebook and Zoom, which seems to be working very well.
“A lot of academic work has gone online and the actual face-to-face work can be conducted through Zoom to keep a virtual presence, which is making up for not being there physically.”
He adds: “It seems to be very much appreciated by everybody, keeping in touch and having a relevant and meaningful presence on the web, which is very helpful.
“People are very appreciative of it during the prayer services for rituals, music, listening and talking to others, and even letter writing can be handled online, so it’s working out ok.”
The priest feels that frontline workers require the help of chaplains, be it virtually, to continue the “spiritual and emotional” battle against the virus.
“Healthcare is very difficult at this time on frontline people and they do need support – spiritual and emotional – and chaplains are busy dealing with that,” he says.
“Many of them are doing this remotely and some chaplains may not have access to patients due to the current restrictions on movement and travel.
“I have two students involved in healthcare and they were able to do their work remotely, virtually via the chapel and could reach out to the whole hospital, but it is very tough times for healthcare workers.”
Students
Dr Grenham, who is Head of the Professional MA in Healthcare Chaplaincy programme at DCU, describes how Covid-19 has affected the coursework of his 26 students and study of the field.
“The first week was very strange, but now that we are a few weeks into it they (the students) are finding it better,” he explains.
“They are able to do assignments and are discovering new things about chaplaincy – that it is not just in physical spaces, but that chaplaincy is beyond borders.
“Through using the web, chaplaincy can reach a far bigger audience and have a far bigger impact,” he continues.
“I have one student who is doing their research project on virtual chaplaincy because there are people who may find face-to-face more intimidating, and may find the virtual space much easier for them to find meaning and purpose.
“That’s pretty new at the moment and more of that will be happening.”
A new way of chaplaincy
Despite the hardship and suffering, Dr Grenham believes that the crisis is making people develop a “new way of thinking” about “traditional” societal norms.
“It’s nice to have a positive coming out of this, with there being so much negativity and difficulty for people,” he says.
“On the academic side of things, it has definitely opened up new areas of research and in terms of chaplaincy, we are going past the traditional ways.
“We can see this in parishes and churches for Mass and services where people cannot attend physically but can go virtually with priests using the webcam, Facebook or radio to reach people.”
He adds: “It’s opening up a whole new way of thinking about how we relate to one another and how we have relationships and how we have communities, virtual communities.
“There’s a whole lot of things there to be explored and see how these things can be furthered.”
Although the pandemic is forcing us to alter how we work and the way we work, Dr Grenham feels there will always be a need for the “social element” in chaplaincy.
“There’s always a place for the face-to-face and there’s always going to be that social element there,” he says.
“The other thing is working from home with more and more people working remotely, which is changing how we are working and how communities are working together, which is better for the environment and climate with less emissions.
“There’s going to be huge change after this crisis passes over and there are a lot of good things that could come out of this bad situation.”
The gift of health
On being asked what he thinks World Health Day symbolises, Dr Grenham responds: “The first thing it signifies is how important health is.
“How much of a gift health and life is, it makes us realise how vulnerable we are and, especially this year, we are learning that human beings are very vulnerable to nature, sickness and illness.
“World Health Day makes us realise how important our health is and to appreciate and take care of it, and to take care of others as well which is another thing coming out of this pandemic; that we need to look out for one another and their needs more.”
Dr Grenham believes the virtues of religion are still essential in a crisis and that chaplaincy can provide “spirituality” to those fearing uncertainty.
“Spirituality, religion and how it is expressed in virtual reality, the notion of hope and faith are all coming to the fore,” he says.
“People are very fearful and are turning to spirituality as a meaningful purpose, and I think chaplaincy is providing that.”
