Shannon Bessette Physical Therapist at The University of Vermont Health Network - Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital Peru, New York Hospital & Health Care I enter their world, they don’t enter mine,” Shannon said.Chaplaincy requires a master’s degree in divinity from an accredited seminary or graduate school and then four units of clinical pastoral education. The unit, which recently expanded from eight to 17 beds, serves as a step-down for patients throughout the hospital age 12 and up.
Shannon greets them as if they’re family.The patient, Gloria Palomino, is a sweet-mannered 11-year-old whose hair is just growing back. After each page of the book Shannon would ask Palomina to share similar feelings talked about on that page.Pediatric Chaplain Jessica Shannon reads a book about sharing the heart’s feelings to Gloria Palomino, 11, on Friday, June 14, 2019 at Texas Children’s Hospital in The Woodlands. Photo: Cody Bahn, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer My experience in this hospital, and in all the hospitals I have served, affirms that I am a valued, if not co-equal member of the healthcare team. We won’t judge, we won’t pry, we won’t impose; We will listen, we will care; We are here to be there for you; Chaplaincy facilities. We are available for prayer, blessings, rituals and religious needs. Shannon Medical Center is designated as a Level III Lead Trauma Facility by the Texas Department of Health.
Along with these physicians, Shannon's trauma services team pulls expertise from many clinical services to ensure the best possible outcome for the trauma patient. He said that chaplaincy has grown increasingly multicultural and multireligious, reiterating that compassion is the overarching key.“We don’t just have a Christian chaplain. It also means we demonstrate consistent compliance with recognized standards of care for trauma patients.At Shannon, we have emergency department physicians on staff at the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Shannon is the only Level III hospital in the entire region that has trauma surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, urologists, facial surgeons and heart surgeons on call and available at all times. Even when you are worried that you won’t make it, you still say you’re going to soldier on,” Shannon said.Though patient visits look different based on the activity Shannon does with the child and what wing of the hospital she’s working in, this interaction gets at the core of her purpose as the resident chaplain: to bring hope to families in all types of situations as they deal with a new diagnosis or find a new normal.“Everyone is going to get the same spiritual support whether they are faith-based or not. Though she’s in the hospital today for a procedure related to treating her acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Palomino lights up when she sees Shannon.The two dig around in Shannon’s bag and select a book to read together. Others may simply want a chaplain’s presence as they express fear or anger.“I want to hear what they’re feeling and what obstacles they have. Pediatric Chaplain Jessica Shannon reads a book about sharing the heart’s feelings to Gloria Palomino, 11, on Friday, June 14, 2019 at Texas Children’s Hospital in The Woodlands. Photo: Cody Bahn, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer My role is to help the children, families and our staff find hope in a mess,” Shannon said.As a pediatric chaplain, she does that through what she calls spiritual play — helping kids process their feelings by reading books together, playing games or coloring to create a safe space that builds the relationship between them.In the cancer center of the hospital, Shannon finds the room she’s looking for, knocks on the door and opens it to a mother and her four children.
They keep track of the satisfaction rate patients give when asked if the chaplains responded to their needs, as well as how soon chaplains respond to a patient’s request for a visit.Trego said that success looks like showing up for people, even the hospital’s staff.“I’m responsible for every one of our 1,200 employees.
We care for the nursing staff and the people who clean the rooms, too,” Trego said. Director of Spiritual Care at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital, Randall Trego, said that his job is all about compassion for patients regardless of where they’re at spiritually.“When you’re sick, it’s not just about getting fixed physically with medication or surgery. Shannon has 1 job listed on their profile. I spend a lot of time outside, and it’s my sense of humor that also helps. Sometimes you have to find something to take away that hurt,” Byrd said.The other chaplains echoed the self-care sentiment as integral to their work—taking time to get outdoors and exercise, spend time with pets and family members and invest in their own faith.Just before Shannon leaves Palomino’s room after a 25-minute visit, she gives her a tiny pink bottle of what she calls “prayer bubbles”.“Every time you blow a bubble and one pops, we know that God is listening to all those things that you’re afraid of and the things that you hope for,” Shannon said, again demonstrating her work of using spiritual play to connect with the kids.Later, Shannon said that walking through each child’s journey with them, whether she’s supporting the parents of a baby in the neonatal intensive care unit or helping a teenager adjust to life after they’re injured in an accident, is the greatest job in the world.“I’ve had families ask me to speak at their kids’ funerals as much as at their bell-ringing (ceremony at the end of cancer treatment).
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