BeaconNews from HealthCare ChaplaincyVol. 34 No. 2 / Summer 2009

INSIDE2 5 6

HealthCare Chaplaincy JoinsHistoric Submmit on National

Health Reform

A Chaplain Writes:Sometimes All You CanOffer is Hospitality

Hospital Rotations: Reality Training for

Rabbis-to-be

The

7

2009 AnnualCommissioning of

Chaplains>>>>

Disaster Chaplaincy: The Crash of Flight 3407

T he evening ofFebruary 12th, aw i n t e r s t o rm

showered rain, sleet andsnow on Newark Airport.Many flights were delayed,including ContinentalFlight 3407. Among the

stranded passengers were two jazz musicians, a humanrights activist, and a cantor. I had spent that day with facultyand students. To relax before bedtime, I turned on the TV.

Flight 3407 was on the news. After a two hour delay it hadtaken off with four crew members, one off-duty pilot, and 44passengers. An hour later and fewer than 6 miles from theBuffalo Airport, Flight 3407 crashed in Clarence Center, NY.In less than five seconds, the plane fell 800 feet and landedon a house, killing an occupant and lighting up the night skywith a huge orange fireball. All onboard were killed.

Shortly after the crash, I received a call from the Red Crossrequesting that I travel to Buffalo, as a member of theSpiritual Response Team. I was deployed to work at the

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Experts at Forum Endorse HealthCare Chaplaincy’s Enhanced Assisted Living Model

On April 22nd, HealthCare Chaplaincy joined withAARP and International Longevity Center to lead aforum on the role of quality assisted living in the long

term care continuum.

Attending were more than 30 thought leaders from the public,nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, including representativesfrom AARP, New York State government, United HospitalFund, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, MilbankMemorial Fund, John A. Hartford Foundation, Visiting NurseService, Village Center for Care and the Council of SeniorCenters and Services.

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The Rev. Dr. Martin G. Montonye, Director, Clinical Pastoral Education

I t’s never a good sign when a chaplain’spager goes off on Saturday night.“Please come,” the nurse supervisor

said. “There’s family all over the place.” Astrong young man who had just playedeighteen holes of golf had collapsed with aruptured brain aneurism. “How bad is it?”I asked. “Just come,” she said.

The hall outside the neuroscience unit was fullof people waiting. They looked me over as Iwalked past and entered the restricted ICU.

Who was I and what role did I play in the care of their loved one?

The nurses around the young man’s bed glanced at me and thenavoided my eyes. I took the man’s hand in mine and sought aresponse – there was none. “Daniel,” I said, “your family is here with

you.” There were at least ten people in that hall. This was a belovedperson, with a close-knit family. I closed my eyes for a moment ofprayer – “Help! Help!” I silently called, “Help them all.” Not an elegantprayer, but a desperate plea for support.

Daniel’s wife, sister, and mother came in. They spoke of Daniel andthe day’s events, but one by one they broke down and couldn’tcontinue. I asked if they would find it supportive to have prayers at thistime. They politely refused. “We’re not religious people,” his mothersaid, with a confirming glance at the others. The nurse asked us toleave so she could care for Daniel. I walked with the family to a nearbyconference room and met his son Andrew, age 5.

“I’m waiting for my Dad,” he said insistently. “Then we can go home.”“You’re a good son, Andrew, to be here with your family,” I told him.He nodded gravely, the only child among adults.

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The Rev. Jill Bowden,Director of PastoralCare, WinthropUniversity Hospital

ifting theSpirit

A Message from

the Rev. Dr. Walter J. Sm

ith, S.J., President & CEO

One of the more unforgettable stories in biblicalliterature is that of Job. His name evokes wordslike pain, misfortune, misery, and incredible faith.

The Book of Job opens with a catalog of catastrophicserial losses that rapidly overwhelm Job: his possessionsand property, his servants, his children, and eventuallyeven his health.

Notwithstanding thesephysical, mental, emotional,and spiritual trials, hereaffirms an unshakabletrust and faith in God,even when there is norational basis for him todo so. His declarationechoes through the centuries: “Naked I came from mymother’s womb and naked I shall return there. The Lordgives; the Lord takes. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”(Job 1:20-22)

His friends show up and try to help Job figure out why hislife has fallen apart, but they fail miserably. Instead ofcaring for him in love, they begin to lecture him. Afterlistening to their assessments and advice, Job respondsin frustration and despair: “I’ve heard all of this before;

what depressing comforters you all are. How long will youtorment me and burden me with your words?” (Job16:2; 19:2)Job might have been better supported by the ministry ofa professional chaplain.

When things flow along smoothly and well, it is hearteningto say: “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” But when

adversity strikes and wefind ourselves powerlessto reverse a negativecourse of events, it is notas easy to exalt God’sname. During this pastyear many of our friendsand supporters havebeen undergoing what

might be described as “a Job experience” because of thedownturn in the worldwide economy. Virtually no onehas been unaffected.

HealthCare Chaplaincy likewise has not been exempt fromloss and diminishment. When New Year’s Day dawned in2008, Chaplaincy’s balance sheet reported $26 million ininvested funds; at the end of March 2009, the market valueof those funds has been depleted by 47 percent. Theannual gain from these investments substantially supports

“Job might have been bettersupported by the ministry of a

professional chaplain.”

A Chaplain’s Healing Story

our research, education, and administrative activities. Like othernon-profits, we have been forced to make reductions inadministrative support and even cut back on the salaries we payto our managers, directors, and executives. In all of this, wehave to work creatively so as not to reduce the level of supportwe provide to our chaplains, faculty, students, and our programs.

In prayerfully reflecting upon situations of loss and misfortune,the Rev. Billy Graham once remarked: “We have a choice:whether to implode and disintegrate emotionally and spirituallyas a people and a nation – or, whether we choose to becomestronger through all of this struggle – to rebuild on a solidfoundation.”

Times are difficult. “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Like Job,we can say this because our vocation and profession aschaplains are grounded in a belief in God’s faithfulness. Most ofour work with people does not occur when things are going well,but when they experience significant reversals in their lives andhealth. We are skilled in listening to peoples’ pain and able tooffer our presence to them when others might back away. UnlikeJob’s friends, we never lecture or moralize, but help people todiscover and use the same spiritual resources on which Jobrelied in the face of unimaginable suffering. Chaplains arepracticed in providing friendship, support, spiritual guidance, andprayer; in a word, they enable the song of the soul to be heard.

As the nations and individuals work hard to rebuild the globaleconomies, we, too, are confident that we will be ableprogressively to replenish our reserves and restore the strengthof our invested funds. Despite the fiscal challenges, we remainunshaken in a common belief that this is God’s work, and Godwill not abandon us as we journey on. I am reminded of thespiritual wisdom contained in a stanza from W.B. Yeats,“Sailing to Byzantium,” which I first encountered as asenior in high school: “An aged man is but a paltrything / A tattered coat upon a stick, unless / Soul clapits hands and sing, and louder sing / For every tatterin its mortal dress.”

In every season of life, especially in times ofdiminishment, adversity, and loss, God ispowerfully with us, encouraging us to findnew ways, perhaps ways that we neverthought of before.

Thank you for your past and presentgenerosity and support. “The Lord gives;the Lord takes. Blessed be the name ofthe Lord.” �

3 The Beacon

The family stayed all night, and I checked in with them from time totime. We all kept vigil. The doctors held out small hope, but it washope all the same, and we waited. They stayed the next day. Morefamily and friends came and went. But Andrew wouldn’t leave - hewas waiting for his Dad. Then they would go home.

We offered them our family room where they could all be together. Theyslept in chairs. They brought in games for Andrew and computers forthe teens. Take-out food came and went. And sometimes they justclosed the door – a family together. Our offer of hospitality was what theyneeded most. Their hope was all in Daniel’s recovery; their resourceswere each other; their family togetherness was their strength. Theydesired only one outcome – to go home together as a family, with Daniel.

Andrew waited for four days, increasingly restive, but amazingly resolutefor a five-year old. His mother took him aside from time to time andspoke to him in simple, truthful language about his father’s increasingly

critical condition. “How are you doing today, Andrew?” I asked. “MyDad is really sick,” he replied. “I’m sorry,” I said. He nodded and tookhis mother’s hand to show her to a chair. All we could offer was thehospitality in which you offer your space to someone else and then goquietly away.

Daniel died one night, and we came in the next morning to move backinto our meeting room and to go on. That was all, we thought, and thena letter came from Daniel’s sister to the president of the hospital. In it shegave thanks for the care Daniel received and said, “At such a difficulttime, especially for the children and my mother, [they] demonstratedconcern and support in a balanced and non-intrusive manner. [They]made sure [they] were available to us, but not overbearing.”

Sometimes we lead, sometimes we follow, and sometimes we just getout of the way. Thank you, God, for giving us a home to offer this familyin their time of need. �

The Rev. Dr. Walter J. Smith, S.J.President & CEO

Sometimes All You Can Offer is Hospitality

New York State Department of Health Deputy CommissionerMark Kissinger predicted that the future of long term care lieswith residential settings that are more flexible than traditionalnursing homes. He said the recently passed State Budget Billwould decertify 6,000 nursing home beds and replace them with6,000 Medicaid-supported assisted living units. DeputyCommissioner Kissinger encouraged the development ofinnovative care models that meet consumer needs better.

The Rev. Dr. Walter J. Smith, SJ, Chaplaincy President and CEO,described the model: “As many people age, they becomedetached from the social capital that they have been building over

their lifetimes. The residence will provide spirit-centered care forpersons with chronic progressive illnesses who cannot or choosenot to live at home, but want to live in a community setting.”

Rick Moody, AARP’s Director of Academic Affairs, said thatChaplaincy’s model for an enhanced living residence was

innovative and “on the cusp of something that needs to bedone.”

Ruth Finkelstein, Vice President for HealthPolicy at The New York Academy of Medicine,said that from talking with older adults, shehas learned “the importance of socialconnectedness and the centrality of communityto well being.”

David Gould, Senior Vice President of the UnitedHospital Fund, emphasized the need toincorporate assisted living within the long termcare continuum. He said that the current “silos”of various long term care options make it difficultfor consumers to understand what services areavailable and to access those they need.

Dan Fox, Chair Emeritus of the MilbankMemorial Fund, observed that end of life careshould be part of proper disease managementand queried whether cost savings created withbetter end of life care could support thecountry’s long term care budget.

International Longevity Center President Robert Butler, MD, aleading gerontologist, psychiatrist and Pulitzer Prize-winningauthor, noted that quality end of life care is important as publicpolicy and for the economy. He cited evidence from the recentDAVOS Economic Forum that longevity correlates with acountry’s economic health. �

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C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

Experts Applaud Chaplaincy’s New Enhanced Assisted Living Model<<

At a time when donors are re-evaluating their financial situation, we want to assure you that your continued support will be greatly appreciated,and we ask that you consider including HealthCare Chaplaincy in your planning.

HealthCare Chaplaincy is a not-for-profit organization that depends on the generous support of its contributors to fulfill its mission. All gifts are100% tax-deductible.

To support HealthCare Chaplaincy online; to arrange “In honor of” and “In memory of” gifts; and for information about other types of support,please visit our Website: www.healthcarechaplaincy.org. For personal assistance, please contact Miel Medley at 212.644.1111, ext. 132, or atmmedley@healthcarechaplaincy.org.

Making HealthCare Chaplaincy a beneficiary under a will is an easy and effective way to provide financial support. The following language issuggested for making a bequest to HealthCare Chaplaincy: I give/bequeath the sum of $______________ (or ____% of my residuary estate) toHealthCare Chaplaincy for its general operating purposes.

Advancement Office: 315 East 62nd Street; New York, NY 10065; 212.644.1111, ext. 132.

�� A Note to Our Friends

From left to right: Rick Moody, AARP; Robert Butler, MD, InternationalLongevity Center; Rose Dobroff, Hunter Brookdale Center.

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Disaster Chaplaincy: The Crash of Flight 3407<<Family Assistance Center to support those affected by thisdisaster. Almost four years ago to the day, I had spent a weekwith the Red Cross in Arkansas, preparing for this call. But allthe training in the world would not have prepared me for whatI was about to experience.

The Buffalo Indigo Hotel had been transformed into a smallfortress with clusters of grieving family memberseverywhere…a sea of pain-etched faces. The Briefing Roombecame a place where time ceased and sadness seeped in alldirections. The loss and meaninglessness touched everyone,transforming us all into a community of sorrow and suffering.

Between the long stretches of speechlessness, family memberswondered aloud how life would go on, shared stories andphotos, and inquired about things like funeral homes and whenthey could have their loved one’s remains. As a chaplain, Iwondered with them in their loss, listened and joined them in theirstories, and sought out the information they desperately needed.

At the crash site – a blackened patch of destruction – all thatremained visible of the plane was a piece of the tail. A sectionof the fence that walled off the site became a makeshiftmemorial of flowers, photos, hand scribbled letters and smallstuffed animals.

As a chaplain in the health care system, we usually encounterpatients and their families one situation at a time. To encounter

and offer spiritual help to dozens of families at once, in themidst of so great a tragedy, was overwhelming.

Physicians and nurses were on the scene, but the work ofcomforting so many deeply distraught people falls on thechaplain. I found myself praying with the victims’ families,providing a sacred space for them and helping them connectto their spiritual resources. Many of them seemed reassuredby my presence there – a reminder that they weren’t alone intheir grief.

“Grief wounds more deeply in solitude,” Seneca wrote. “Tearsare less bitter when mingled with others’ tears.” I thought ofthe words of John Donne: “Any man’s death diminishes mebecause I am involved in mankind.” In a community formedout of heartache and sorrow, the compassionate presence ofa professional multifaith chaplain was needed. As the bittertears of deep love flowed, we cried together. As confusion anduncertainty filled the air, we listened. As a search for meaningbegan, we reflected on life’s experiences. Seneca was right –we need others in our grief as we learn to live with the sorrowof losing a loved one.

Postscript: As the investigation into this tragedy turns upreasons for the crash, the senselessness of it only deepens thefeeling of loss. But the fact is, whatever the reasons behind it,a plane went down and a professional chaplain played a criticalrole at that time. �

HealthCare Chaplaincy Joins HistoricSummit On National Health Reform

“Genetics is not destiny.”

“Evidence-based medicine is the onlyacceptable standard.”

“Many chronic diseases can bereversed through lifestyle modification.”

These were a few of the concepts articulated at the historicSummit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public,

held in February at the NationalAcademy of Sciences inWashington, DC, and co-sponsored by the Institute ofMedicine and the BravewellCollaborative. This gatheringwas the largest ever at the prestigious Institute of Medicine,and catapulted integrative health into the national spotlight.

Integrative health is defined as patient-centered care thatfocuses on prevention and wellness and attends to the

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Senator Tom Harkin, D-IA,speaks at Summit

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2009 Annual CommissioningSt. Peter’s Church � May 13, 2009

HCC Joins Historic SummitOn National Health Reform<<

Board Certified Chaplains commissioned asnew members of the clinical staff were:

The Rev. Florine ThompsonDirector of Pastoral Care

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital

Chaplain Wilfredo RodriguezDirector of Pastoral Care

Lenox Hill Hospital Lieutenant CommanderU.S. Navy Reserve

The Rev. Kimberli LileStaff Chaplain

North Shore University Hospital

The Rev. Paul RickertStaff Chaplain

St. John’s Riverside Hospital (ParkCare Pavillion/Andrus Pavillion)

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 5

physical, mental and spiritual needs of the person. It presents atrue health care system as opposed to our current system whichhas been characterized as “sick care.” William Novelli, CEO ofAARP, noted that health reform done correctly, with a focus onprevention, will provide “the biggest return on investment thenation could ever have.”

This three-day summit attracted a large and diverse group ofparticipants from across the health care spectrum. Speakersincluded Harvey Fineberg, MD, President, Institute of Medicine;Dean Ornish, MD, Preventive Medicine Research Institute;Mehmet C. Oz, MD, New York-Presbyterian Medical Center;Senator Tom Harkin, D-IA; and Christy Mack, BravewellPresident.

HealthCare Chaplaincy attendees were Jeanne Lee, ExecutiveVice President and COO; Claire H. Altman, Director, CapitalProjects; Kathleen M. Foley, MD, Trustee, and The Rev. Dr. WalterJ. Smith, S.J., President and CEO.

With the Obama Administration and Congress committed topassing health care reform this year, participants at the Summitfelt that integrative health was being validated more and more asan important part of health care. As the country moves towardsa more patient-centered system, HealthCare Chaplaincy isworking to help gain recognition of the spiritual part of that care.

Senator Harkin urged the country to move to a “pervasive cultureof wellness” and away from a system of “patching, fixing andmending.” He offered a new standard for reimbursement:“payment based on quality of outcomes rather than on quantityof services provided.” He added that it was time to make a largeinvestment in prevention. “It is my intention,” he said “to changeour health system and to place integrative health care at the heartof the reform legislation we will pass this year.”

Underscoring the fact that an improved health care system is aglobal issue, the Prince of Wales sent a letter read at the Summiturging both his nation and ours to support “the creation of ahealth care system that places a greater emphasis on treatinghumans as whole beings – mind, body and spirit.”

Overall, the Summit affirmed the direction of HealthCareChaplaincy’s Strategic Plan. The Plan emphasizes creating anevidence-based foundation for the practice of spiritual care withinhealth care and research into the relationship between spiritualwell-being and physical and mental health. �

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TThhee rreessppoonnssee ssaayyss,, “The palliative care model and itsemphasis on interdisciplinary teams, and patient-centered care (including the recognition of spiritualneeds), provides a powerful model which can serve toaddress many of the health care policy goals set forth inthe Senate’s report on health care.”

7 The Beacon

Hospital Rotations: Reality Training forRabbis-to-be

2009 Annual CommissioningSt. Peter’s Church � May 13, 2009

When it comes to hospital chaplaincy, there’s nosubstitute for hands-on training. Our Department ofStudies in Jewish Pastoral Care, under the direction

of Rabbi Charles Sheer, enables seminary students to go onhospital rounds in one of our partner hospitals.

Four seminaries participate in this program. Students learn howto approach and greet the sick, how and when to offer guidanceand comfort, and how to conduct bedside prayer for patients ofall religious backgrounds. This gives them first-hand multifaithspiritual care experience, directly at the patients’ bedsides.

“Sitting with seriously ill patients and their families challengesstudents in ways very different from intense text study,” observesDr. Michelle Friedman of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah RabbinicalSchool, a seminary partner.

Saul Leib Weiner, a rabbinical student from Yeshiva University,describes his experience.

“For an entire week in January, four students and I were throwninto another world – the world of chaplaincy – at North ShoreUniversity Hospital.

“Hospital chaplaincy involves supporting the spiritual, emotionaland religious needs of patients, family members and staff in timesof distress.

“North Shore has particularly strong interest in chaplains as theydeal with managing and alleviating the symptoms of pain

(physical, emotional and spiritual), and often when patients are inend-of-life situations. During the rotation I learned hands-on whatthe chaplains do, day to day.

“The Pastoral Care Department gave us an introduction to theprofessional chaplaincy training process and a taste of ClinicalPastoral Education. We shadowed both chaplain interns andfull-time chaplains as they made their rounds. They exposed usto all types of departments and units where patients might findthemselves.

“No matter which floor or room, every patient could beempathized with, regarding their sense of loneliness, loss andrestriction to confined space.

“On our last day we were given the opportunity to go out on ourown and visit patients.

“These encounters with so many suffering people really drovecompassion home for me. They transformed me. I thankHealthCare Chaplaincy and North Shore University Hospital forgiving me this educational experience that will stay with me.” �

From left to right: Rabbi Daniel Coleman, HCC Staff Chaplain, Dept.of Pastoral Care and Education, North Shore University Hospital;Michael Teitcher, student, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary(RIETS) at Yeshiva University; Rabbi Charles Sheer, Director, Dept. ofStudies in Jewish Pastoral Care, HCC; Saul Leib Weiner (author of thearticle), student, RIETS; Rabbi Asher Dordek (recently ordained byRIETS); Kevin McGeachy, Associate Executive Director, North ShoreUniversity Hospital.

HealthCare Chaplaincy Responds to Senate Finance Committee

You can read the entire response and recommendations on our website www.healthcarechaplaincy.org.

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The nonprofit HealthCare Chaplaincy applies thediscipline of professional spiritual care to improveoutcomes within the science and business of healthcare. Since its founding in 1961, it has helped more than4.5 million people. It is the world’s largest multifaithorganization of its kind and leads the profession in research,higher education, clinical practice, and consulting. Its BoardCertified Chaplains give personalized spiritual andemotional support to patients, families and health careinstitution staff of all faiths or no faith; they are trustedadvisors as members of the professional health care team.

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WWrriitteerr//MMaannaaggiinngg EEddiittoorrBernie Rosner

AArrtt && DDeessiiggnnBrian H. Kim

DDiirreeccttoorr ooff MMaarrkkeettiinngg && CCoommmmuunniiccaattiioonnss

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© 2009, HealthCare Chaplaincy

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Beacon

Dr. Stephen Post, Templeton FoundationTrustee, on the Science of Love and Giving

The

S cientific studies prove the link between doing good andliving a longer, healthier, happier life. That’s the essenceof Dr. Stephen Post’s book Why Good Things Happen to

Good People.

Dr. Post visited HealthCare Chaplaincy in May to engage indiscussions with Chaplaincy’s researchers and discuss ways inwhich his center and Chaplaincy might collaborate on projects ofcommon interest.

Post has devoted much of his adult life to scientific research thatsets out to prove the life-enhancing benefits of giving behavior. Hisresearch shows that when we give of ourselves, especially if westart young, everything from life satisfaction to self-realization andphysical health is significantly improved. Mortality is delayed.Depression is reduced. Well-being and good fortune are increased.

In his book, Post distills academic research into an inspirationalmessage. The research includes a 50-year study showing that

people who are giving during their high school years have betterphysical and mental health throughout their lives. Other studiesshow that older people who give live longer than those who don't.Helping others has been shown to bring health benefits to thosewith chronic illness, including HIV, multiple sclerosis, and heartproblems. And studies show that people of all ages who helpothers on a regular basis, even in small ways, feel happiest.

Stephen Post, Ph.D., is Director of the Centerfor Medical Humanities, CompassionateCare, and Bioethics in the School of Medicine,Stony Brook University (SUNY). From 1998through 2008 he was Professor of Bioethics,Philosophy and Religion in the School ofMedicine, Case Western Reserve University.He is President of the Institute for Research

on Unlimited Love, founded in 2001 with a generous grant fromthe John Templeton Foundation, and devoted to high-levelscientific research on unselfish love. �