Queen’s Medical Center patient Taia Sivatia prays with Sister for Christian Community Judy Resta before receiving Communion, Feb. 8. Hospital ministry volunteers Deacon Ron Nelson and his wife Luci Nelson (behind Sister Judy) pray with them.

 ‘When I was sick’

Volunteer hospital visitors bring Christ to Honolulu patients

By Hawaii Catholic Herald

“I look at the hospital visitors as being like the Marines hitting the beach,” said former Army chaplain Father Paul Smith. “They give me a general idea of where the patients are in their faith.”

Father Smith has been the director of the diocesan Hospital Ministry Program since 1994. Helping him are 54 volunteer “hospital visitors,” lay men and women who drop by a sickbed before the priest chaplain does, and then follow up afterward. They also bring Holy Communion.

“The hospital visitors tell me if a patient is a fallen away Catholic or a devout Catholic,” Father Smith said. “It helps because I can tailor my approach and behavior.”

But the visitors are not merely there to assess a patient’s faith status. Holy Family Sister Mary Martin Moran, when she founded the program here in 1981, said, “Our people are called Catholic hospital visitors, not just eucharistic ministers, because they go as a minister of Christ, a friend, a consoler and a representative of the church.”

Bishop Joseph A. Ferrario began the ministry as a way to serve the hospital patients of the non-Catholic medical centers in central Honolulu: Queen’s, Straub, Kuakini, and later Kaiser-Moanalua.

Kuakiki Hospital later came under the care of the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa parish.

Other hospitals throughout the state are served by the parishes within whose boundaries the hospital is located.

Today, 31 volunteers serve at Queen’s, 15 at Kaiser and eight at Straub. Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, which is also in central Honolulu, has no volunteers because of the special needs and mixed nature of its patients, many of whom are maternity patients, infants, and domestic violence victims. Instead, a priest chaplain is available by pager. The volunteers make an estimated 5,300 bed visits a month.

Father Smith also has a staff of two — Father Teddy Gaquit of the Archdiocese of Palo, Philippines, and Sister for Christian Community Judy Resta. Each of the hospitals also has a volunteer coordinator — Patricia Ho at Kaiser, Deacon Vince Wozniak at Straub, and Sister Judy at Queen’s.

Training volunteers is a full-time job for Father Smith. Sister Judy is the training coordinator.

Preparation involves a six-hour session plus shadowing a seasoned visitor. The volunteer learns how to greet patients and make personal contact. He or she is also taught what to look for and what to expect.

Concern and prayer

The main functions of the hospital visitor, said Sister Judy, are “to assess the patient’s needs, pray with the patients and their families, give Communion if the patient is a practicing Catholic, and see if the patient would like the priest to visit for anointing of the sick and/or Penance and Eucharist.”

“The hospital visitor also helps the family and the patient adjust to the challenges of their illness, and in some cases prepare them for the death of their loved one,” she said.

Both professional practices (patient confidentiality) and practical ones (frequent hand washing) are emphasized.

Every day, the hospital prints a list of its Catholic patients, except for those in maternity or emergency wards. From the list, a volunteer makes a census card for each patient. The cards are divided by floors and volunteers are assigned floors. On each card, the volunteer records the patient’s parish, visit details, and the recommended follow-up. Also noted is whether Communion was given to the patient or family member, if prayers were said, and if there were problems the patient or family was having.

The volunteers are often called upon to explain the Catholic faith and changes in the church. They sometimes bring patients back into the fold, working though past disaffection and hurt.

The volunteers come young and old. They include physicians, dentists and registered nurses, teachers, school counselors and social workers, deacons, deacon candidates and professed religious.

They spend about two or three hours a week going from bed to bed. Each patient is unique and so is every visit. The volunteers are trained in active listening skills, learning to “go with the flow,” paying close attention to the patient’s needs and situation.

Among them is spoken several Filipino dialects, as well as Cantonese, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Samoan and Chuukese.

After a summary of each visit is logged on a census card, the cards are left in the office for Father Smith and Father Gaquit, who visit the patients later that day. The two priests divide their time among Kaiser, Straub and Queen’s. The priests are also on-call 24 hours a day by pager.

“We would be lost without our volunteers,” said Father Smith. “It would be like flying an airplane at night without radar. They guide you around the place.”

“I am amazed,” he said, “because a day doesn’t go by that you don’t bring someone back to the church. I do more anointings in one day at the hospital than I would have done in a year in a parish.”

Sometimes friendships develop between long-term patients and hospital volunteers. Patients have even been known to ask volunteers to give their eulogies. The work is intense, but the rewards are fulfilling and long-lasting.

“Hospital ministry gives me a great sense of purpose and satisfaction,” said volunteer Barbara Gambol.

Said Deacon Wozniak, “Hospital ministry is a true ministry that is appreciated by patients and their families.”

“You walk in the hospital thinking your problems are so big,” said another former volunteer, “but when you leave, you feel humble and you realize that they, the patients are the ones who helped me today.”