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 The three websites also offer resources to assess spiritual
distress, aids in defining personal spirituality and guides to end
of life decisions.
“When people are faced with a crisis, somewhere in their minds and
in their hearts, they ask questions about why this is happening to
them,” said Rev. Eric Hall, President of the HealthCare Chaplaincy
Network (HCCN), the New York-based nonprofit which launched the
services in the past year. “We face our own frailty, and people want
an answer and to be able to talk it out.”
The initiative reflects a growing prevalence in tele-health,
increased outpatient care delivery and shorter hospital stays, Hall
says. He calls this service one step among many that the field of
chaplaincy must take to keep up with current modes in providing
care.
Response has reflected demand. CantBelieveIHaveCancer.org attracted
200,000 unique visitors in its first four months online. Chaplains
of diverse affiliations across the country respond to requests for
support within 24 hours.
“People are isolated and alone so much of the time, and spiritual
care is something that has often been dismissed and ignored,” said
Rev. Amy Strano, HCCN’s Director of Programs and Services. In the
project’s early months, loneliness has been most frequently cited as
the factor driving requests for spiritual care. Guilt and questions
about suffering have also been common.
“After patients are no longer in the hospital, many find themselves
without the spiritual support they had while hospitalized,” said
Lisa Anderson-Shaw, the University of Illinois Hospital and Health
System’s Director of Clinical Ethics and a contributing author to
Handbook for Rural Health Care Ethics: a Practical Guide for
Professionals.
“Many rural areas may not have a church," she said. "Or, the closest
church may be many miles away, making homebound persons unable to
find the spiritual care they wish to have. Privacy may also be a
concern for patients and families who live in small, rural
communities and wish to keep health information more private.”
According to the Pew Research Center, one-fifth of the U.S. public
now identifies as religiously unaffiliated. The HCCN maintains that
this statistic supports the need for this service, as chaplains are
trained to guide patients through existential questions about
meaning, pain, isolation and relationships - either within or
outside of theological frameworks.
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“Back in the day, everyone belonged to a local congregation, and the
pastor, the rabbi, or the imam came to the house,” said Rev. George
Handzo, HCCN’s Director of Health Services, Research and Quality.
“That day is gone. Our services are aimed at those that for whatever
reason are thankfully not dying in hospitals. Who reaches out to
them? You can’t just send a chaplain up and down halls like we used
to.”
Chaplains in the halls of health institutions are increasingly rare.
According to the Institute of Medicine, only two-thirds of U.S.
hospitals have chaplains. However, the presence of chaplaincy
services has been associated with lower rates of hospital mortality
and higher rates of hospice enrollment.
“This provides more people access and resources to end of life
questions, faith questions and prayer,” said Eric Price, spiritual
care manager at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of
Chicago, who is not affiliated with the tele-chaplaincy service.
“However, many hospitals may see this as a more valuable alternative
than live face-to-face contact, because it is cheaper than a
chaplain. At its best, it will offer another tool for the staff
chaplain. At its worst, it may replace the profession.”
The HCCN funded the initiative’s roll out and is now seeking grant
support and hospital partnerships for fiscal sustainability.
Strano acknowledges the limits of tele-chaplaincy, describing it as
a “spiritual first-aid” capable of connecting patients with local
resources for further support. “Something is better than nothing,”
she said.
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