Mental Well-Being in the Time of Covid
As pandemic challenges minds and spirits, we find new ways to cope – by David Lichter, Executive Director
I am so appreciative the many contributors to this issue of Vision on Mental Well-Being in the Time of Covid. Last spring, when we were beginning to hold our member listening and resource sessions on Zoom, I was struck by the initial sharing of stories of what was happening in our respective places of ministry that included numbers infected, overwhelming conditions, staff loads, distant practices, isolation in suffering and death, distance loved ones dealing with grief, and on and on. These were heavy, heart-breaking sessions. Read more…
How to celebrate the new year at a safe distance – and other COVID-19 rituals – by Mary Davis
Gatherings, liturgy, and rituals are paramount to making meaning, providing depth, and bringing direction for the events in our lives – and we need them more than ever during a pandemic. Read more…
Telechaplaincy represents new opportunity for parish ministry – by Blair Holtey
As soon as COVID-19 hit, I knew ministry would change in our hospital. I just didn’t know how. But then it happened. We started making phone calls to patients. Any patient in isolation became a candidate for a personal call, and most, if not all patients, thanked our team. This new form of ministry also gave us an opportunity to reach out to patients’ families in ways we never had. Read more…
Pandemic puts unique strains on pediatric hospitals – by Jim Manzardo
It’s holiday time 2020, and all through the world, nary a soul has been spared the weariness, hardship and grief of COVID-19. Yet people everywhere, parents and grandparents especially, are also feeling eternally grateful that this novel virus has been quite merciful to children. Read more…
‘One day at a time,’ we can get through anything – by Anne Millington
Lately, at the hospital, people claim to be taking things “one day at a time.”
“One day at a time,” sighs the nursing assistant trying to hold down her job while managing her young children’s remote learning. “One day at a time,” says the anxious son whose father is in the ICU with COVID-19. “One day at a time,” we all chant as we watch the numbers rise and hospital beds fill. Winter approaching, temperatures dropping, we swim around like fish in a lake, helplessly watching the ice form above us and the water cool around us. Read more…
Virtual rituals help families cope with loss – by Sr. Monica Okon, HHCJ
Prior to COVID-19, my pastoral care department celebrated a monthly memorial Mass in the chapel for the families of patients who died the previous month, and the chapel was usually full. During the pandemic, no Mass was celebrated for patients who died from February 2020 to September 2020. But as the numbers of dead kept increasing, it became obvious that we still had a need for this meaningful memorial service – particularly when so many patients died without their family members at bedside. Read more…
Pandemic strains our mental health in unexpected ways – by Nicholas Perkins
The pandemic interrupts our lives and may awaken us at night. It disrupts our sense of control and leaves us fumbling for answers. It has obliterated consistency and predictability, two qualities that are important to mental health. Read more…
Chaplains can help families work through grief – by Adriana Rengifo
As chaplains, we know about grief and mourning all too well. Many of us serve in a clinical practice that allows us to walk alongside patients and families who have experienced very difficult situations. However, nothing has fully prepared us to deal with the immediate challenges of grief and mourning in the midst of a pandemic like COVID-19. Read more…
15-minute daily pause is enough to improve mental health – by Craig A. Smith
During this time of COVID-19, it is more important than ever to take care of yourself, both physically and mentally. Studies have shown that individuals who have mental illness generally also have physical issues that are not being attended to. Our physical and mental wellness go hand in hand. Read more…
Love wins. Prayer works. The spirit survives. – by Mary T. Tracy
Why do I sometimes struggle to gracefully accept these lovely expressions of thanks to “those of us on the front lines”? Is it because I do not feel worthy to be counted among the ranks of janitors, food service workers, nurses, social workers, physicians, administrators, techs and therapists? Is it because there is so much work yet to do? Is it because I know that all the work I am contributing still will not be enough to spare everyone from suffering? Read more…
