Dear Judy
I don’t know what you can do about this: our sister is in hospice care. She is really religious (Roman Catholic) which we aren’t — by which I mean my brother and me.
Recently she had to go to the in-patient unit where they tried to stabilize her pain, which is bad. She kept getting visits in her room from the hospice’s spiritual advisor, or whatever the woman calls herself. She was dressed in a kind of clergyman’s outfit, with a stiff white collar.
I have no idea what religious affiliation this woman had or has. But she sure isn’t a Catholic priest, and my sister was kind of angry. Can’t they supply the real deal at these hospices?
Carla
Dear Carla,
Lots of hospices have spiritual counselors like the individual you describe. They usually visit patients only on request. Maybe your sister asked for a member of the clergy.
I realize she didn’t like what she got. So why not contact her priest, and see if he can drop by? Hospices welcome outside clergy who come to visit patients.
Thank you for writing
Judy
Common on Judy, priests aren’t the only option. What about a nun? I’m not a Catholic but I would imagine that a sister might be more comforting to Carla’s sister. In my experience the nuns provide the kind of tender emotional support that is special for a woman.
Hospices simply cannot have a person of every religous institiution on staff. It is not possible. And having one or a few religions represented but not others can be interpreted by some as discriminaton. The hospice chaplin should however, be able to get you in touch with someone who does meet your spiritual needs if the chaplin himself/herself does not.
First, always remember, spiritual pain can be just as uncomfortable as physical pain….Second, try telling a Medicare surveyor you can not provide spiritual assistance due to lack of staff. It doesn’t go over very well (their response is “then don’t admit them”). Ask an agency if they can meet the needs of yourself or your loved one. For example, is there clergy available on call or after hours?? Just FYI:
A hospice is mandated to do the following:
1. Provide counseling to meet the spiritual needs in a manner that is accepted by the patient & family & is consistent with their respective beliefs
2.Facilitate visits by individuals that can meet the patient’s spiritual needs.
Meaning: an agency should be actively building an internal registry of varying affiliations in order to meet the needs of their service area. If you are looking for an agency this should be a question you may want to ask. Thanks for the opportunity to share
Jeanne, thank you for clarifying. I think I read into the question too much and took it as Clara saying that the hospice should have had the catholic priest there from the get go, whether or not her sister had indicated she was a practicing catholic. They are required to facilitate visits and meet Everyones spiritual needs, as you said. They just needs to know what the person wants.