In Pastoral Care at Breese, IL
S. Dorothy Niemann, Pastoral Care Director at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese, IL., works closely with almost all members of the staff. Here, she confers with Sue Darr, hospital Utilization Review coordinator
S. Dorothy Niemann is director of Pastoral Care at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese, IL.
“A chaplain’s main ministry is to be a compassionate, pastoral presence to those who are suffering, their family and staff caregivers,” S. Dorothy said. “The work of a chaplain can be a richly blessed and rewarding ministry as one hears many life stories during daily ministry.”
She said, chaplains assess the spiritual care of patients, assist with advance directive planning, facilitate ethical decision-making and work with others to nourish a culture of spirituality within their organization.
At St. Joseph’s in Breese, there is a flexible structure to the day, usually beginning with a brief prayer or reflection over the intercom. An interdisciplinary meeting is held three times a week on the medical-surgical unit to coordinate care and discharge planning.
“Our major goal is to be of spiritual and emotional support to the patients,” Sister said.
Sister, who is a certified chaplain, and the two other department associates attempt to see all newly-admitted patients within 24 hours to introduce the hospital’s Pastoral Care services.
Departments throughout the hospital often call on S. Dorothy to lead them in prayer. Here members of the surgical team, including (right) surgeon Renato Rivera, MD, join hands for a quick meditation before a procedure
“We assess their spiritual needs in light of their current physical, emotional and spiritual health, their support systems and the role of spirituality or religion in their life,” Sister said.
This process begins on admission and continues through the patient’s stay, Sister said. It also provides an opportunity for the sharing of life stories that are meaningful within the person’s life.
In addition to general duties, Pastoral Care staff also work with specific departments.
Pre-surgical patients are offered support prior to their procedures and prayer is offered to patients and their families.
Patients in the Women and Infants Center are visited with a prayer and/or blessing for the new infant and family. Any woman that experiences a miscarriage and her family also receive spiritual and emotional support which continues after discharge through the department’s grief ministry program.
At any time of the day, Emergency Room (ER) staff may also request a prayer for a patient prior to transfer or support for a family of a critical patient.
Generally, members of the nursing staff are encouraged to contact Pastoral Care if there is a sudden change in the patient’s condition and family is called in or needs spiritual support.
One Pastoral Care staff member is available after hours for emergency calls, she said, noting this could include a blessing prayer or baptism in the Women and Infants Center, a call from the ER or nursing unit for family support of a critical patient or a presence offering prayer and support at the time of death.
Sister said, there are special needs when a patient is dying.
“Facilitating communication between family members and their loved one is very important,” she said, noting that ongoing support of the patient and family includes being a listening presence, sharing stories, providing soothing music and prayer.
Pastoral Care also coordinates the grief ministry.
Grief support is available on an individual basis, by telephone or in person, or through the monthly grief support group. A memorial service is held every six to eight weeks for family members of patients who have died as well as for employees who have experienced a loss.
In cooperation with the Women and Infants Center, a perinatal memorial service is held in October for families who have lost a child as an infant or later in life.
Pastoral Care is also called on for other services, including leading a department in prayer for a fellow employee and arranging observances such as Ash Wednesday or the Feasts of St. Joseph’s and St. Francis.
Originally from Breese, S. Dorothy was named Pastoral Care Director at St. Joseph’s in Breese in 2001, returning from Dickinson, ND, where she was a full-time faculty member at Dickinson State University and in the Parish Nurse Ministry at St. Wenceslaus Parish.
She previously worked in nursing, hospice, Quality Assurance and Risk Management at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center in Dickinson, ND; and in nursing at Good Samaritan Health Center —formerly Holy Cross Hospital — in Merrill, WI.
S. Dorothy and the department may be contacted at 618.526-5327 or sniemann@sjb.hshs.org.
(special thanks to Mary L. Hereen, Communications Coordinator at St. Joseph's Hospital, Breese, IL, for providing the information and photos.)