A Catholic Chaplain Helps A Holocaust Survivor
and His Family

Chaplain Elaine Chan

More than a year ago, I was making my rounds on the telemetry unit when a social worker referred me to a hospice patient. His wife was by his bedside and inquired about funeral arrangements for her husband. I explained that once he died, the staff would notify the hevra kaddisha, a volunteer burial society that is trained to prepare the body. “You are a better Jew than I am,” exclaimed the wife. I chuckled since I am not Jewish, but rather the Catholic chaplain.

As I was speaking to the wife, I noticed that the man’s arm was tattooed with numbers – the markings of a Holocaust survivor. I commented on this and his wife told me that he had been the sole survivor of his family. She briefly told me about the horrific fate of his family. I felt great sorrow for him, his family and all the other victims. I felt a need to stay with the wife and her husband.

Later on, as we sat next to the bedside of her husband, whose breathing was labored and assisted by oxygen, the wife asked again about arrangements. I noted that during the day it was easier to get the hevra kaddisha than in the evening, weekends, the Sabbath or holidays. I explained to her that her husband’s body would be treated with care and dignity.

The wife then noticed that her husband was no longer breathing. I summoned the staff and they confirmed that he had died. I realized afterwards that he had heard me speaking about the hevra kaddisha and wondered if he thought that this would be a good time to let go, since I would see to the care of his body and stay with his wife.

I stayed with the wife as she waited for her son to come. She was concerned that she might be keeping me from other duties. I told her my job was to stay with her. Shortly thereafter the hevra kaddisha came and they asked her about the funeral home. Jews are to bury their dead within twenty-four hours, so I offered to get the funeral home on the telephone for her. She said that her son would get a minyan (a group of ten men) as well as a rabbi to pray for her husband at the graveside.

Presently the son arrived. He was grief stricken. He asked to see his father. I waited with his mother while he went in to see his father and then said my good-bye and departed.

After they left I reflected on the death. The Jewish religion prescribes specific rituals for the care of the dead and burial. During the Holocaust, it would have been unlikely that any of this patient’s family members were given a proper burial. I felt privileged to have had the opportunity to assist in a small way to make sure that this patient’s body was properly prepared. In my mind’s eye I could see the minyan praying at the cemetery not only for him, but also for his ancestors, all those who had gone before.

A year after the death, yahrzeit is observed (according to the Hebrew calendar). A candle is lit for twenty-four hours and prayers are said. As I said my evening prayers that night, I too remembered that hospice patient and his family.

Newsweek.com Cites
HealthCare Chaplaincy Research

Kevin Flannelly Ph.D. and Kathleen Galek, Ph.D.

Newsweek.com recently covered two scientific articles by HealthCare Chaplaincy researchers Kevin Flannelly, Ph.D. and Kathleen Galek, Ph.D. that the Journal of Religion and Health will publish this summer.

Dr. Flannelly said, “The first article describes a theory we developed about how religious and other beliefs affect brain systems that underlie psychiatric symptoms. We call these Evolutionary Threat Assessment Systems. The second article tests some predictions from the theory.”

Newsweek reported, “If your goal is mental health, they found, it’s a whole lot better to believe in a close and loving God. Belief in a close and loving God who’s looking out for you results in less chance of becoming paranoid, depressed and the rest.”

Dr. Galek added, “A close and loving God is not the only protective factor, but it is a powerful belief for many people. We suspect that chaplains’ ability to tap into these brain systems enables them to reduce patients’ and families’ anxieties.”

Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer in Washington to Support Health Care Reform

HealthCare Chaplaincy and more than 30 national faith organizations have come together to plan an unprecedented multifaith mobilization to support health care reform — an Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer on June 24th from 5 to 7 PM at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C. Guest speakers include Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Dr. Sayyid Syeed, Executive Director, Islamic Society of North America; and Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., Pastor Emeritus, Riverside Church, NYC, and Executive Director, The Healing of the Nations Foundation.

"HealthCare Chaplaincy is supporting this event," says President and CEO, The Rev. Dr. Walter J. Smith, S.J., because "millions of Americans with chronic or advanced illness do not receive the quality of care and life that they deserve. We call for national health care reform to create a new strategy that delivers this quality, is sustainable, and helps reduce costs."

To learn more, visit http://webelievetogether.com/ or e-mail june24@healthcarechaplaincy.org.

Treating Patients as Tapestries,
Not as Patchwork Quilts

By Chaplain Jane Mather, Director, Chaplaincy Services, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Seamless care. That was the essence of a conference I attended recently at the American Psychosocial Oncology Society where I participated in a presentation on spirituality to more than 100 clinicians. I, a Board Certified Chaplain, shared the podium with an RN, PhD, MD and a research psychologist.

The conference's theme was how disciplines could and should work together to provide seamless care to patients and their families who are struggling with cancer.

Speaking to an audience unaccustomed to hearing pastoral, biblical and religious images was daunting despite the expertise I felt with the topic. I struggled to find images the audience could relate to without “selling out” my religious beliefs. It isn’t that the audience would not have been respectful of my presentation had I used religious language. In fact, some who considered themselves religious may have been thrilled finally to hear a religious voice in this venue. But those with no such affiliation might have simply dismissed my words as not relevant — simply because religious words were not relevant to them.

Having professional chaplains seen as an integral and essential part of that seamless care partially inspired my presentation. But even more important to me was implanting the clear awareness that each one of “their” patients has some form of spirituality that deserves and requires nurture and that can contribute to healing — even (perhaps especially) when cure is not possible.

I found an analogy that I felt reflected the conference's theme: that patients are like tapestries whose images have been created by the weaving together of the strands of their thoughts, emotions, cultural values, spirituality and social/familial characteristics.

If the aspects of our psychosocial spiritual lives are woven, so should be the delivery of care. However, too often patients are treated more like patchwork quilts — separate pieces stitched together and individually replaceable or repairable.

The patchwork model of care reflects disciplines working in isolation from one another — as if each one had a separate “piece” or scope of care that had no relationship to any other piece — despite the significant ways in which these issues overlap in the patient’s experience. At best, this is multidisciplinary care, but falls short of the inter- or transdisciplinary collaborative teamwork that reflects current best practice.

The tapestry model indicates inter- or trans-disciplinary team work — which sets the standard for best practice. Using this image allowed me access to at least the minds if not the hearts of both the religious and non-religious in the audience.

The tapestry analogy spoke truth to those who were already seeking seamless care. Some readily accepted the role of the chaplain side by side with the rest of the psychosocial team in the care of patients. Others, who reported having previously considered chaplains “irrelevant,” professed a new openness to allowing for — even referring to — chaplains' place and expertise in the lives of their patients. Even if consideration for patients’ innate spirituality wasn’t universally acknowledged, the clinicians in this forum were likely to refer at least those patients with a stated religious preference.

Many clinicians indicated that their practices would change to include chaplains and the spiritual and religious issues of their patients. Changing the overall mindset towards viewing patients as tapestries rather than patchwork quilts will take time, but it’s a goal worth pursuing.

Chesed – The Hebrew Word for Kindness

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and North Shore University Hospital both have opened Chesed rooms for the families of their Orthodox Jewish patients. The rooms are stocked with kosher food and other amenities, and offer a haven for patients and their families.

“Chesed is the Hebrew word for ‘kindness’ and reflects the kindness of the hospital and its volunteers,” said Chaplain Rabbi Daniel Coleman, who helped establish the Chesed room at North Shore. Chaplain Jane Mather helped create the Chesed room at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.