Enter the sacred core of the
long-term care resident through symbols

By Jennifer Paquette, MAPS, BCC

Experienced symbols permeate the whole of our lives. Symbols include words, language, metaphors, and myths. Indeed, symbols precede language. Symbols can also include gestures, people and objects. The discussion here will focus specifically on objects which reveal “who” we are imbedded in the symbol.

Join in dialogue on long-term care standards

By David Lichter, D. Min.
Executive Director

This issue of Vision is dedicated to long-term care ministry. We are grateful to all who contributed articles to this issue.

While the NACC database indicates that we have only 186 members (7.5% of membership) who identify themselves as working in long-term care (nursing/retirement homes is the designation in our database), this ministry will only continue to grow as our boomer population ages. Thank you to all our members working in this ministry.

Communal, systemic dimensions of work call for new CPE strategies

By Barbara J. Fleischer, PhD

When Anton Boisen, the acknowledged originator of clinical pastoral education (Dystra, 2005, p. 1), first brought seminary students into a hospital setting, he exhorted his students to learn about human nature first-hand by reading “living human documents,” i.e., the patients they were about to meet (Boisen, 2005, p. 29). The key work that he set before his students was to listen deeply and hear the spiritual questions and struggles embedded in their patients’ stories. Their work was also to assist the patient in making meaning of their suffering and situation in life. Today the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education highlights Boisen’s key metaphor in describing contemporary clinical pastoral education, “The textbooks for CPE include in-depth study of ‘the living human documents.’ By ‘living human documents,’ we mean both the people who receive care as well as a study of ourselves, the givers of care” (2011).

Chaplaincy on wheels taught new lessons

By Sandra Lucas, MDiv, BCC

Several years ago, on a snowy Groundhog Day in Maine, I was hit head-on by a pick-up truck that slid into my lane of traffic. The car buckled like an accordion. The airbag deployed. When I regained consciousness, I sensed a circle of protection around me. I suffered a broken arm, shattered knees, and multiple contusions. In those first weeks of painkillers and physical therapy, I learned that I did not handle pain well. I also learned how difficult it is to rely on others for all my needs.

After being off from work for several weeks, I returned via cab to my position as a chaplain in a long-term care facility. I could walk with a cane, but only for short distances. Mount St. Joseph supplied an electric wheelchair, dubbed “The Cadillac.” It was golden yellow, styled like a riding lawn mower, and came with a basket and horn.

By Margot Hover, DMin

A core belief for me is a variation on the truism, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” My version of that focuses on large, universal themes that are given shape and color by our individual lives. Safety, control, limitation, hope, connection, identity, desire to “make a difference,” vulnerability, change, loss, grief, forgiveness, loneliness, wealth, beauty, shame, virtue, strength, responsibility, love, loyalty, truthfulness, possessions, attachment, dependency, trust – these are a few of those universal themes. They may look different from person to person, from situation to situation, and from stage to stage in an individual’s life. Safety for an infant means nurturing, food, being held securely. Safety for a coronary bypass patient in an acute care setting may involve a pre-surgery prayer or a visit from her home pastor. And safety in the long-term care context may involve familiar faces, a regular schedule, and predictable placement of a walker.