These are the constants in our lives

I don’t know for certain, and yet, I imagine you are as “done with” Coronavirus and COVID-19 as I am. So many processes have been altered in order to continue doing business or some businesses are down completely. I still do my own grocery shopping (with mask on and hand sanitizer readily available) but have friends and family members who haven’t been into their local supermarket in weeks. Taking my temperature every morning and answering a litany of questions on an app and having my temperature checked again upon entering the hospital have become routine. Even wearing a mask everywhere has become less cumbersome and annoying, thanks in part to the few days of temperatures less than 100 degrees. And, while my city has had seven weeks of declining average new case rates, I am certain we are not near the end of this experience. Schools are starting soon and learning for us all is moving at the speed of the internet.

The most pertinent changes in many of our lives has the been the ability to continue or start units of CPE in our locations. Those of us in healthcare have made shifts to accommodate the needs of the institution while not compromising the education we provide, the safety of our students, our colleagues and the patients, families and staff we serve. I imagine this is true for the innovative programs of CPE in other institutions such as prisons or non-profits serving our neighbors in hard times, the military, and veterans’ institutions.

We were able to have a summer program in our hospital. It was different. Hospital orientation, usually a full 2-day process building community with others new to the institution and growing a sense of belonging with the stories that make our place unique in our service to children and their family members was all online. At home, they had video connection with presenters for half the day and did mandatory CBT (computer-based training) for half a day. On the second day they were met by their training CE and CEC who shepherded them through the gauntlet of temperature screeners and security personnel. They took it in stride and expressed their excitement to be in the program.

They joined our program of Residents who were adjusting to new restrictions on visitation placed on family of patients. Patients were allowed only one person in the hospital with them at a time. That, in effect, meant that parents were rarely together in the room with their child during the hospitalization. (Of course, compassionate exemptions were made for critical care conferences and at the time of a death.) Both groups did quite well and learned how to be present with a single parent and learned to make time and space to meet with the other parent or support person, when the change in attending family was made. They made calls to patients or family members from the hallway outside the room, waving or making eye contact through the window when the patient had a COVID-19 diagnosis. Two of the Summer folk will be back in the fall for an Extended Unit.

The Residents graduated with a much smaller group of folks to celebrate their accomplishments. Often the chapel is filled with team members such as Chaplains, Nurses, Child Life Specialists, Social Workers, Physical and Occupational, and Music Therapists, Security, and the Residents’ family members. We often sing and tell stories and laugh a good bit. This time we had one family member attend via face time on the phone. We also didn’t have our usual potluck luncheon with all who can attend after the celebration. I felt sad that the people who had worked side-by-side with our Residents, witnessing their good work with families and patients, weren’t able to attend and fellowship afterwards. And, I felt very proud of the work they had done before and after COVID-19 arrived. They were constant. They were dedicated. They were safe. They were caring. They were fun loving, coffee/tea hounds, and eager to be good Spiritual Care Providers. As I write this, I am acutely aware that I haven’t fully grieved their leaving. I’m certain I’ll hear from most of them over the years.

The 2020 – 2021 Residents’ arrival was much the same as the Summer group. They had a whirlwind orientation and we all learned a good bit in that process. They are enthusiastic, inquisitive, and eager to learn. They come with varied life experiences, from different faith backgrounds, a range of ages, single and married, and from varied ethnic backgrounds. I met them at the door with their badges on the second day and walked them through the temperature sensors to our office where they are settling in, finding their clinical assignments, and getting oriented to their new adventure of CPE in a pediatric trauma center.

This reminds me that things are always changing. Often it isn’t fun, or expected, or comfortable. Yet, we find ways to teach and learn, to explore and discover, fail and succeed, all in relationship to ourselves, our Spiritual ground and those around us. These things need never change. These are the constants in our lives.