Česky
Why did you decide to move from the Ústí region to Central Bohemia?
This year, after thirty years as a preacher in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, I retired and had to vacate my ministerial apartment in Teplice. The church offered me the opportunity to move to another apartment in Beroun. For ministers, as for doctors, retirement age plays no role, so I began to wonder how I could be useful in my profession in Beroun. By a series of coincidences, I learned that the management of the hospital in Horovice was interested in extending its services to patients to include spiritual services as well. So I offered mine, and here I am.
Did you know the Hořovice Hospital before?
I had often met the head of the children's ward, Mrs. Mahulena Exnerová, at various conferences, and from her I knew about the hospital and the work of its palliative care team.
What is the function of the hospital chaplain?
A hospital chaplain serves patients, family members and hospital staff. When people are in a crisis situation, they need a human presence and they need someone to talk to. The chaplain should be the one who listens to them. We are more of an ear than a mouth. Anyone can come and say what's bothering them in a safe environment. On the other hand, hospital chaplains are also oriented in crisis intervention, psychology and psychiatry, and they know how things work in a hospital, so they can advise at the same time without interfering too much in the above mentioned fields beyond their competence. The hospital chaplain is part of what is known as a multidisciplinary team, and this means that he or she works closely with all health professionals.
Do you have a particular faith preference?
The chaplain is guided in this matter by the EUROPEAN CODE OF ETHICS FOR HOSPITAL CHAPLAINS. He works in a strictly ecumenical way, he does not evangelise, but on the contrary tries to protect patients from the influence of various groups that try to exploit the fragility of the sick person's situation for their religious aims. We do not only serve Christians, but also orient our ministry towards other world religions such as Judaism, Islam, etc. We offer prayer, Bible readings, and the administration of the sacraments to Christians, or we organize hospital services as needed. For people who, on the other hand, do not feel they are practicing Christians, we help them to explore their personal spirituality and to seek answers to questions such as what is happening to me, why this has happened to me or what is going to happen to me.
How often are you in hospital?
For now, I am part-time and will be physically present on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. But a chaplain can't say to the dying patient he's accompanying, "Well, goodbye and I'll see you again next week." What I mean is that the job of a chaplain cannot be defined in terms of from to. So I should be available whenever an urgent need arises.
How will the provision of your services at Hořovice Hospital work?
The system of work is still to be created at Hořovice Hospital. As I indicated earlier, cooperation with doctors and nurses is very important. The doctor or nurse should establish that such a service exists and who needs it. For example, when a doctor tells a patient bad news, he or she should then call the chaplain so that the patient can discuss his or her feelings with someone. The client should not be left alone in this situation.
Do you think there is a certain bias against spiritual services among people nowadays?
Certainly in our Czech mentality. For example, a nurse asks, "Madam, you are sad, do you want to call the chaplain?" And the patient usually responds, "No, no, please, I don't want to die yet." Because sometimes people think that the chaplain only goes to those who are dying. That's how I felt in Ústí nad Labem, where I worked. Yet there were more people who understood the ministry of the hospital chaplain correctly and accepted our help in difficult situations. The most important thing is to inform all stakeholders who the hospital chaplain is and what his role is. I believe that this will also be achieved here in the hospital in Hořovice.
