The Burntwood Regional Health Authority (BRHA) is obviously thought of as associated with physical care, but it also employs a group of people to take care of other aspects of a person's wellbeing - the BRHA Spiritual Care Committee (SCC) looks after the spiritual needs of BRHA patients.
"Spiritual care is an important piece in the health care continuum" Ted Goossen, Mennonite Christian Centre Fellowship pastor and SCC member, told the BRHA board of directors at an Aug. 26 meeting. "The workload can be heavy at times, but I find delight in being able to do it."
The SCC, which is run by Rusty Beardy, BRHA vice-president of aboriginal health, is composed of local clergy and laity, many of whom also belong to the Thompson Christian Council. Their role is to oversee the delivery of all spiritual services through the BRHA. Their services are used primarily at Thompson General Hospital, the Northern Spirit Manor, and in the acquired brain injury unit at the hospital, where patients are sometimes kept for up to one year.
TCC members are selected by the SCC for a rotating chaplaincy offering weekly Sunday services at the hospital and at the Northern Spirit Manor. All SCC work is done on a completely volunteer basis. The rotation currently includes members from Thompson's Baptist, Mennonite Brethren, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Salvation Army, and United Church communities.
Other services offered by the SCC include a program of offering Bibles for any BRHA patients who would like access to them, with the cost of the Bibles covered through the TCC, and a weekly Thursday afternoon get-together in the hospital chapel, with coffee and refreshments served and members of the SCC present. "Sometimes only one person shows up," said Goossen of these Thursday events, "but in God's eyes, even one person is significant." Inspirational quotes posted throughout the hospital, on every floor and in the cafeteria, are also the work of the SCC.
It's not only the patients, but also BRHA staff who have access to the services of the SCC. SCC members assist in staff orientation, alerting new employees to the spiritual resources available to them, and are also available to offer spiritual resources upon request. "We've had staff come in [to the chapel] and say 'would you pray for me?'" Goossen noted.
One of the key issues faced by the SCC is that religion is not a one-size-fits-all camp, and that the SCC member on call at a particular time might not be acceptable to certain patients. When a patient is admitted into the hospital, they are given a form which includes questions about religious background, explained Marion Ellis, BRHA vice-president of acute health services and chief nursing officer. "It's part of the admission questions and conversations that happen with the patient," she said.
Ellis said that while some patients are happy to have whichever SCC member is available talk to them and pray with them, not everybody is as easy to please. "Some patients are specific, they don't want anyone from any Christian denomination other than their own," she said. "Sometimes patients don't want somebody coming in and - not that they'd use this word - proselytizing them."
The BRHA does retain a list of religious organizations in Thompson outside of those who make up the SCC, and will attempt to contact any of them if a patient requests it. For aboriginals, they also help to facilitate elder visits and traditional aboriginal services.
Goossen arrived in Thompson five years ago, and does not have fond memories of the hospital's spiritual side upon his arrival. "Frankly, the whole aspect of spiritual care at Thompson General Hospital was in a kind of chaos," he said, adding that patients were telling each other "don't bother calling [the SCC], they don't show up."
The situation has improved since then, but Goossen told the board that they could go father yet. "It would be very helpful to have a part-time chaplain," he said. Under the current system, SCC members carry a beeper on a rotating basis, and are called to the hospital whenever a patient asks for their services. Goossen suggested that a part-time chaplain could offer a quicker response, as well as forge a better connection with patients than could a rotating cast of Thompson's religious community. "Somebody who is here on a part-time basis could talk to people individually on a follow-up basis and pay greater attention to the spiritual needs," he said.
"It's good to see that you have that level of commitment that goes beyond the physical treatment needs of your staff and into the spiritual," Goossen told the board.
Board vice-chair Janet Brady suggested that the SCC focuses too much on Christianity and not enough on other faiths. "The feeling is that it's a Christian council, it's a Christian spiritual committee," she said. "If you come back in a year," she asked Goossen, "are you going to tell me that you've made inroads into the Muslim community, the Sikh community, the Hindu community, to reflect the increased diversity in Thompson?"
In response, Goossen and board members pointed out that the SCC has tried to reach out to leaders of non-Christian faith groups in Thompson, but have not had success in recruiting them into their on-call rotation, and that just as any faith is welcome in the SCC, the chapel is available to anyone who wishes to use it, Christian or otherwise.
Brady said that some of the perception stems from the picture of a Christian cross on the wall of the chapel, and suggested that perhaps a cupboard could be installed to contain banners for other faiths which could be hung as necessary, an idea which generally met with approval.
Board chair Lloyd Flett disagreed with the notion that the SCC was excluding non-Christians, noting "there's been attempts by the group to get other faiths involved, and that's great to see."
