By Alison Bradish
As news about Covid-19 spreading in care homes bombard the public along with images of isolated seniors looking longingly out of windows, there is ample opportunity to worry about loved ones in care homes.
For residents of Santa Maria Senior Citizens Home in Regina and Providence Place care home in Moose Jaw, there are two women helping to alieviate that worry and meet the spiritual needs of residents and staff despite the on-going obstacles of a pandemic.
Susan Askin is the director of Spiritual Care and Mission Effectiveness at Santa Maria. She is responsible for supporting residents spiritually, whether they belong to a faith tradition or not. Askin also works with the family of residents when necessary and provides spiritual support for staff members.
Prior to the pandemic, Askin had a group of volunteers dedicated to portering residents to and from the chapel a few days a week for Masses as well as monthly Lutheran and United services. There were also non-denominational unit prayer services offered.
Volunteers played a key role in helping residents get to the chapel and were a great part of building community in the home as they also would visit residents on a regular basis.
Most of the volunteers Askin relied on were over 65; however, the Saskatchewan Health Authority has requested people in that age category to step back from volunteering for their own safety.
Compounding volunteer recruitment is the fact that no one, volunteer, or family member, can enter the building. At the time of this article being published, there are no Masses or services, or group gatherings occurring.
The restrictions are extremely challenging, admits Askin. As she was reviewing a presentation she often gives about spiritual care; she realized how much of the information no longer applies because of COVID-19.
“The importance of touch, getting close, face to face at eye level, letting them read your lips because their hearing is not that good, and now what we are faced with is being six feet apart, face masks and face shields on. Even if they can hear you, what you’re saying is echoing and distorted. We all probably look the same if we are all wearing the same PPE (Personal Protective Equipment),” says Askin.
Despite this, she continues to do her best to engage with the residents and provide spiritual support for the staff, many of who stop into the chapel before or after their shift to pray.
Asked what gives her joy during these times, Askin says it is the camaraderie of the staff and the resilience of the residents.
“They are so accepting of the situation and so appreciating the care they get,” she says.
Cheryl Thul is also tasked with navigating how to offer the best practices in her line of work when everything has been turned upside down.
She is the Spiritual Care and Volunteer Program Lead at Providence Place in Moose Jaw. Asked how the role of her team has been affected by Covid-19, Thul responded, “Oh my, it has affected all of us. The isolation for our residents is heartbreaking, in their rooms for 24/7 including meals while we were on outbreak.”
Her spiritual care team includes herself and three others (one who works part-time and two casual workers). Thul opted to work Sundays to give residents a chance to go to “Church” in an adapted way. She says all departments worked as a team to help deliver meal trays to residents in their rooms and to stay as needed with residents as they ate and when they were able.
For Thul, COVID-19 has forced her out of some of the structures she was used to working with. For years Mass offered on Wednesdays, where anywhere from 30 to 40 residents would fill the chapel. Interdenominational services were held with similar numbers on Thursdays. Lunch and fellowship would follow both.
“I have to come up with other ideas,” states Thul admitting the plan has changed quite a few times. From allowing 10-15 in the chapel at a time with six feet distance between residents for individual Mass and Church services, to live streaming these events to their rooms on Ipads or laptops.
“Now I’m in the process of figuring out a new schedule for only five residents in our Chapel to watch Mass and their Church Service,” says Thul.
She is grateful for Intheredeemer.com, a webpage, and app created by Deacon Lamont Dyck at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic primarily to keep the community connected. It allows the residents of Providence Place to hear the Rosary recited daily along with the Divine Mercy Chaplet and daily homilies. Residents can also send in their prayer intentions.
Residents of other faith backgrounds have also been connected to services, including one resident who was able to connect with his home church in Kelstern.
Thul has always been a strong advocate for spiritual care. Both Providence Place and Santa Maria are part of Emmanuel Care, a group of Catholic care facilities under the leadership of Saskatchewan’s Bishops.
She points out that Christ healed not only the physical ailments of the people who came to him but offered spiritual healing as well.
The pandemic has helped Thul better understand her role, “I struggle with boundaries, that I can’t meet all the needs of our residents, families, and staff. I am learning to delegate now. I have an amazing team to work with, and the rest I turn into God’s hands. I trust we have a loving God, and He is on this journey with each person in a special way.”
Thul explains spiritual care is different than religious care. For Thul, this means letting go of opinions and meeting a person where they are at as they try to find meaning in a broken world. She believes spiritual care is more important than ever as people face isolation versus fellowship.
Matthew 18:20 (For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them) is a verse Thul brings up in reflecting on the pandemic.
“We are all adapting to continue to meet our Vision Statement: Guided by Divine Providence, we strive to meet the changing needs of our community. Community is changing to a small group or even an individual in this pandemic. We are all doing the best we can to continue to meet their needs. I can’t imagine the facilities without the added value of spiritual care.”
