Saturday, April 17, 2010
Chaplain offers spiritual guidance for patients and families facing end-of-life issues
By LINDA M. LINONIS
liberty
Ministering to patients and their families in an end-of-life situation takes special talent and insight.
Patty Scahill, a chaplain with Celtic Healthcare, knows she has a calling to offer spiritual guidance to those facing imminent death.
“When I was 8 years old, I was very sick with a high fever,” Scahill said, noting that she had been left in a room alone and unattended. “I remember walking down a hallway, seeing a light and feeling that Jesus was holding my hand,” she recalled, and added that she felt “secure.” Then the door opened, and she said she was ready to go through it, but Jesus held up his hand and said to her, “Not now.”
“I woke up and I was OK,” Scahill said. The memory of that experience remains with her and has guided her throughout more than 20 years of hospice and hospital ministry.
Carole Wiley, registered nurse and hospice care coordinator with Celtic, was involved in hiring Scahill, and found her to be a perfect fit the job. “I prayed about finding the right person. She has been a blessing,” Wiley said of Scahill.
Celtic has three components — community service that includes in-home care, transportation and meal programs, skilled side of regular home care and hospice that involves end-of-life care and spiritual counseling, if requested. “Everything is suited to the patient’s needs,” Wiley said.
Scahill is currently meeting with 14 patients of various faiths, some who belong to a church and others who don’t. In general, she visits their homes or may see them in the hospital. “I ask them about the lives and families,” Scahill said, noting she often may just sit with the patient. “But this isn’t about belonging to a church ... it’s about your relationship with God.” Though the ministry is Christ-based, Scahill can make adjustments depending on patient need. Prayer and Scripture reading also may be included.
She said people are sometimes afraid of what’s on the other side of the door. “Life is changing, not ending,” she said of those who believe in Jesus and the ideas of eternal life. And, she said, that applies to the patient and the family left behind.
“This is a ministry of presence,” Scahill said of the chaplain’s work with dying patients and their families and being with them through these times. “It’s like being an escort as they experience the presence of God and go through the door.”
Wiley said many people delay hospice care and counseling, maybe trying to forestall what is taking place. “Hospice can help make a ‘good death’ .... the patient and family know what to expect,” she said. “And the family has the time to say goodbye.”
Wiley said she recalled one situation in which an elderly man was dying of cancer. “The couple was reminiscing about their life, marriage and children,” she said. “His gift to her was voicing those memories and what they meant.”
“It’s moments like those that souls touch each other,” Scahill said.
Though patients and families can take comfort in the spiritual side and their faith, Scahill said patients often worry about practical issues such as “who’s going to mow the grass?” and so on.
“I talk to them about how everything will be OK,” Scahill said. She acknowledged there may be family, financial and other issues that really aren’t OK, but for a brief moment, they can be.
Scahill said the bereavement program that includes phone calls and visit. They also are group meetings to help the survivors. “After the death of a loved one, you’re like a jagged cloth. It can’t be sewn back together,” Scahill said, but noted healing does take place.
“Everyone grieves and heals at a different pace,” Scahill said. “Eventually, people will talk about something other than their grief ... and for the first time, there will be a smile.”
The bereavement program continues for 13 months after a death. “I do a lot of listening,” Scahill said. “The photos come out ... so many things play a part in the amazing healing process.”
Scahill said though the patients and families “go through the shadow of death, they come out on the other side.” And this is achieved through their faith, belief in God and support from the realization that they are cared for.