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UAMS' pastoral care team includes (left to right) George Hankins-Hull, director; Al Henager, chaplain; and volunteers Madge Brown and Joe Ogden.
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For four hours each week, Madge Brown listens.
She doesn't advise or preach or instruct. She simply listens. And in listening she helps people heal.
About 20 years ago, Brown "retired" from her other volunteer positions to take up a singular cause: pastoral ministry. She attended training for the interdenominational program titled Community of Hope and set about to offer care to people in hospitals, nursing homes and other similar settings in conjunction with a group from her church, St. Michael's Episcopal.
Her ministry regularly brought her to UAMS, where she would visit with patients undergoing inpatient cancer treatment through the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. Then, one day, she said, it seemed that all of her hospital patients just disappeared.
"When I asked what had happened to the patients that I visited, I was told that their treatments were now being done on an outpatient basis," said Brown, whose training also included three Clinical Pastoral Education units at UAMS.
Not to be deterred, Brown inquired about an outpatient chaplaincy program. When she was told that no such program existed, her newest mission became clear: to start one.
Through a series of meetings with George Hankins-Hull, director of pastoral care, and Al Henager, chaplain for the Cancer Institute, Brown's plan fell into place and the volunteer chaplaincy program, deemed the Shepherd's Staff, was formed.
Getting Started
To become a member of the Shepherd's Staff, volunteers are required to complete training in either the Community of Hope or the Stephen Ministries training program for one-on-one pastoral care. While these programs are not affiliated with UAMS, they do provide a strong base of knowledge needed for volunteer chaplaincy, Henager said. Both programs are interdenominational and offer regular trainings throughout the state.
The volunteers also participate in Cancer Institute Auxiliary training and sessions where they learn the philosophy of the UAMS Pastoral Care program, which Henager describes as relaxed and nonthreatening.
"We want to be present and form relationships that offer patients the chance to talk about the things they want to talk about," Henager said. "We don't have an agenda, except to establish relationships."
Henager teaches the volunteers effective listening skills, gives them pointers on how to assist people who are confused or disoriented, and helps them understand how to interpret nonverbal communication.
After their trainings are complete and they have shadowed another volunteer chaplain, the Shepherd's Staff members are ready to make
the leap into one-on-one pastoral care.
Forming Bonds
Instead of visiting with people in a private room set off from other patients and visitors, the Shepherd's Staff uses the most public of venues for their ministry: the waiting rooms.
"We just go to the waiting rooms and talk to the people," Brown said. "Sometimes they don't want to talk, and sometimes they want to talk endlessly."
By "setting up shop" in the waiting rooms, the volunteers see the same patients on a regular basis as they return for treatments and follow-up appointments. They can strike up conversations, establish common bonds and get to know the patients in a familiar atmosphere.
"We don't go into an exam room and say, 'I'm the chaplain. Let me ask you a series of questions,'" Henager said. "We establish relationships, and as difficulties bubble to the surface, we are able to listen and help with those. It's an effective way to handle problems, because you've already established a bond of trust."
Brown has seen hundreds of patients come and go during her time on the Shepherd's Staff, some of whom had positive outcomes and others who lost their fight with the disease. But it's the patients' overriding spirit and positive outlook that has been the impetus to continue her work.
"The patients are an inspiration, and so are their families. They have such confidence in this place and in their doctors and the research being done. They really have a sense of trust, and their attitude is amazing in the midst of all they are going through," Brown said.
One patient in particular made a lasting impression on Brown. The young woman had arrived for her first cancer treatment when Brown asked her how she was doing. As they visited, the woman asked Brown to share with others an important lesson she had learned: "Until you get to the absolute bottom, you don't know what blessings you will find there."
"That's what they teach me," Brown said. "To find the blessings."
Complex Issues
While they are asked to commit four hours per month, some volunteers — including Brown — devote four hours a week to the program. "It's a commitment that some people just aren't able to make," Brown said. "But several of us come in weekly, and hopefully that will grow."
With a solid base of six Shepherd's Staff members, Henager is able to concentrate more time on his other duties, including supervising a group of chaplain interns — most of whom serve in a similar waiting room capacity to the volunteers — and serving as coordinator of palliative care.
In the Cancer Institute's Palliative Care Clinic, a group of health care professionals including physicians, nurses, social workers and chaplains treat the physical and emotional needs of patients facing life-threatening, complex or chronic illnesses. Although many patients in the clinic are experiencing a life-ending illness, others may be dealing with chronic pain or the residual effects of cancer treatment.
"Cancer brings with it a wide assortment of symptoms, some physical and others emotional and spiritual. My role in the clinic is to help patients sort through the existential issues," Henager said. He regularly helps patients grapple with complex questions about the meaning of their life, how they should spend the remainder of their days and what their illness means for their future.
For Henager, these issues particularly hit home, as he lost both his mother and his sister to cancer. "I have a soft spot in my heart for working with cancer patients, especially the ones where you have to shift the levels of care from cure to comfort."
He sees the chaplaincy program — in both the clinic setting and through its volunteer and intern programs — as a valuable way to help patients come to grips with what may be the biggest challenge of their lives. "We don't judge; rather, we support and encourage," he said, adding that "disease is bad enough to face. It’s worse to face it alone." |