ESCONDIDO: Hospital employees worried about cuts in chaplain service
Nurses, others say they fear people's spiritual needs won't be met
By ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer | ∞
Palomar Pomerado Health Staff Chaplain Rev. Richard Gonzalez comforts patient Jamie Paolino before saying a prayer in her room. Recent layoffs at Palomar Pomerado Health have left the district with two part-time chaplains for both of its hospitals. (Photo by John Koster - for the North County Times) 
Palomar Pomerado Health Staff Chaplain Rev. Richard Gonzalez listens to medical staff while making his rounds visiting with patients. (Photo by John Koster - for the North County Times) 
Palomar Pomerado Health Staff Chaplain Rev. Richard Gonzalez opens to a prayer called "Faithfulness" from his book, "Promises for Yo"u before visiting with a patient in the Escondido hospital. (Photo by John Koster - for the North County Times) ESCONDIDO ---- Some Palomar Pomerado Health employees said this week they're worried that recent layoffs that cut Palomar Pomerado Health's number of staff chaplains could leave some people without the spiritual support they need.
The public hospital district had one full-time and three part-time chaplains before the full-timer and one part-time chaplain were laid off with 84 other district employees this month.
Registered nurse Donna Johnson summed up the concerns earlier this month when she asked the public hospital district's board who will sit with patients and families after they receive devastating news when no staff chaplain is available.
"For many, the prayer they hear from a minister has more medical value than any pill or treatment," said Johnson, who works in Palomar Medical Center's emergency department. "If we are to truly meet our mission (of healing people), then we cannot ignore the spiritual needs of our patients."
Social worker Deborah Knight described the staff chaplains earlier this week as the hospital's support system.
"They meet with families experiencing (medical) trauma," said Knight, who also works in the emergency department. "And if any patients are dying, the family asks to see a chaplain. ... The nurses and doctors don't have time to just sit at the bedsides with patients or grieving families. And the chaplains are even a support system for the staff as well as patients and families."
Cutting back
Palomar Pomerado owns and operates the Escondido medical center as well as Pomerado Hospital in Poway and a nursing center in each of the two cities.
Until July 18, the district had chaplain Tom Webb stationed at Pomerado Hospital full-time while the three part-timers worked varying schedules that included late and weekend shifts and had them "floating" among Palomar Pomerado's facilities.
The layoffs left Webb and chaplain Richard Gonzalez sharing the equivalent of 1.2 full-time positions and covering all four facilities. Between them, the two remaining chaplains are on duty during the day, Monday through Friday.
Palomar Pomerado officials have said the layoffs were necessary to keep the district's $429 million annual budget in the black. As Steve Gold, district administrator for Palomar Pomerado's skilled facilities and support services, put it this week: "We need to balance the paid positions in that budget along with the actual resources that we have available to pay for them."
The layoffs are expected to save the district about $7.7 million in the fiscal year that runs through June 30, 2009, with the two eliminated chaplain positions accounting for about $200,000 of the total savings.
Gold said patients' spiritual needs will still be met because the district will rely on a pre-existing list of local priests, rabbis and other religious leaders willing to respond to the hospital on an as-needed basis, when the staff chaplains are unavailable.
"That list is still out there," Gold said, adding that the approach worked in the past. "So if there's a request for assistance, we can find a way to get a man of the cloth, whether it's a paid chaplain or member of the community."
A hospital chaplain is trained specifically to minister to sick and injured people of all faiths. Gonzalez, who was ordained as a chaplain 15 years ago, said the district also has a corps of volunteers trained to assist with that effort.
Many people do not even realize that speaking with a spiritual leader is an option until a hospital staff member tells them, said Gonzalez, who wears a black suit and carries a Bible and prayer book. He said he never knows what any given day will bring.
"We get them all ---- we get automobile accidents, we get heart attacks, we get gunshot wounds," the chaplain said. "And sometimes we get fetal demise ( miscarriages). ... Every one of the rooms, I have a story for."
Soothing patients
Gonzalez said that, ideally, he would like to see staff chaplains available around the clock. However, the new schedule has not been in effect long enough for him to determine whether the cuts will be detrimental to the hospitals and their patients, he said.
A one-hour period Wednesday morning saw him comforting the distraught husband of a woman who had been brought to Palomar Medical Center emergency center by ambulance, after her unexpected collapsed at home. Gonzalez then spent several minutes talking with Jamie Paolino, whose ongoing stomach problems had her tossing restlessly in her emergency department bed when the chaplain first arrived.
"I was raised Catholic, and I'm now Christian," Paolino said after Gonzalez offered a prayer for her return to health. "So having him here made me feel a little better."
From there, it was on to two of Palomar's four intensive-care units, where the bilingual Gonzalez's stops included the room of an elderly, Spanish-speaking pneumonia patient. It was unclear whether the man heard the chaplain, but his son, who had traveled from his Mexico City home on an emergency visa to be with his father, seemed visibly more relaxed after Gonzalez's visit.
Emergency department nurse Madelyn Goble said staff members try to keep the spiritual needs of patients and their families in mind despite a work pace that sometimes gets "fast and furious." She has seen chaplains defuse people's fear, anger or anxiety simply by spending time talking or praying with them, Goble said.
"Modern medicine isn't everything," she said. "Spiritual support is a big part of our care."
Other nurses said the chaplains also boost staff morale by checking on employees and letting distressed ones know they can come to the chaplains' office and talk if they want. And while the call list may sound like a good idea, they said, experience has proved otherwise.
"Sometimes you have two things going on at once," intensive care nurse Sue Phillips said. "What we find with the call list is they're so busy with the things going on in their church or whatever, that sometimes they can't get here for an hour or more. And sometimes that's too late."
Gold said delays in chaplains and other religious leaders to patients and their families occurred occasionally even before the cutbacks, because staff chaplains have never been on duty 24 hours a day. He said he thinks employees' fear of change, rather than potential gaps in chaplain availability, is the real issue.
"We will continue to work with every agency to make sure that we sort out the issues and make sure that we meet the needs of the patients," Gold said.
Courtney Berlin, a spokeswoman for Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, said the hospital currently has two full-time chaplains who are paid stipends for their work and three part-time volunteers who are not paid. She said the hospital has no plans to cut back.
Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com. Staff writer Paul Sisson contributed to this story.
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OzLike wrote on Jul 25, 2008 5:46 PM:I think "it's just employees fear of change" was in the first draft, but L. Frank Baum changed it to "ignore the man behind the curtain" when he figured even his audience wouldn't buy the first version. They're both pretty much synonymous, though.
What...why wrote on Jul 25, 2008 5:58 PM:Why do taxpayers pay for chaplins. First, why don't they volunteer their time like clergy are supposed to do? 2)Why are we paying for this "service" anyway? Does it actually help anyone??? No way! If I was at the hospital and some robe wearing freak wanted to lay hands on me, I give him a taste of my fists. Keep you holy rolling ways to yourself there skypilot.
I can see where some weaker person might use a priest so maybe we should allow them in the hospital but NO WAY to paying for them. NO NEW TAXES!!!
diane wrote on Jul 25, 2008 8:13 PM:AGREE 100% WITH "WHAT- WHY". THEY SHOULD BE DOING THIS OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF THEIR HEART NOT FOR THE ALMIGHTY $. I CALL THEM "SHEEP IN WOLVES" CLOTHING.
boogereater wrote on Jul 25, 2008 9:08 PM:Exactly. they arent following anything the bible says. Jesus was not paid. apostle paul made tents to support himself. those religous peeps fail!! LRN2 read bible!!! those chaplains shouldn't make a business out of spiritual things.
Christine wrote on Jul 25, 2008 9:20 PM:Every job takes money to do the things needed and a Chaplain is an ordained messenger of God. Anyone who has been thru the death of a love one or in need of spiritual guidance at this time needs a Chaplain. This person is saving your soul and giving comfort to your family. The most important part of our lives. Money is always needed for every part of life why would this be so different?
D Love wrote on Jul 25, 2008 9:21 PM:Are you kidding me? Where can I find a list (comprehensive, broken down) of where EVERY tax dollars goes? I want to see the tree, the trickle down, I want to see it all. Somebody please reply!!!!
Why--not wrote on Jul 25, 2008 10:28 PM:I'm wondering why you people are so angry. Chaplains are not out to hurt you or force you to pray. Chaplains make a living helping people cope. Is that so bad? Do any of you volunteer as a full-time job to help people? As far as people making a living off of the faith--don't worry, they don't make that much. But they have studied and trained for years to do what they do. And remember, Jesus himself said (speaking about his missionaries)that a laborer deserves his wages. So give the poor chaplains a break. You wouldn't want their job. Guaranteed.
to what why wrote on Jul 25, 2008 10:39 PM:What an idiotic thing to say, concerning paying chaplains! That's their livelihood, they're paid to minister to people. The suggestion that Jesus didn't receive money indicates you have no knowledge of the Bible. If He didn't receive money, what did he need a treasurer (Judas) for? Judas was stealing "from the bag" which would indicate to anyone who can read that there was money to steal. There's nothing wrong with having paid ministers who represent their respective faiths helping people. It's clear a few bloggers here could use their services.
to boogereater wrote on Jul 25, 2008 11:05 PM:The Apostle Paul was a tentmaker prior to becoming a full-time apostle. Once he became one, he depended on people supporting him, In Phillipians, he thanks them for their financial support on more than one occasion (Phil 4:14-18). In Galatians 6:6, Paul says that people who are ministered should share in all good things with he who ministers. Jesus had a treasurer, Judas, who stole from His treasury -- meaning that there was money there to steal. There is nothing unscriptural about people being paid to minister. You need to LRN2 read the Bible yourself, sir or madam.
TO WHATWHY wrote on Jul 25, 2008 11:11 PM:ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW? DO YOU WORK FOR FREE? WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR GAS AND RENT? BOTTOM LINE IS THEY NEED THESE CHAPLAINS BACK- HOSPITALS ARE A FILD WHERE THERE IS ALOT OF SADNESS & HEARTBREAK, AND THE CHAPLAINS OFTEN PULL THEM BACK TOGETHER AND GIVE THEM SOME COMFORT & HOPE- HOPEFULLY YOU ARE NOT IN THIS SITUATION. EVER!!!!
calm down wrote on Jul 25, 2008 11:14 PM:To those of you concerned that the chaplain may come and force his Jesus rap on you, have no fear. They only see you if you ask for it. It can be a source of great comfort to sick or dying people,and their loved ones. I did not know they got paid for it though. Do all of them? Not sure about that one. I thought they did it as part of some ministry of their particular churches. But to the religious fearful, don't worry about it. They won't force themselves on you.Relax. You're safe. At least for now.
Sam wrote on Jul 25, 2008 11:40 PM:I feel better having a staff Chaplain around when the doctors operate.
Gringo wrote on Jul 26, 2008 5:07 AM:You folks that complain about clergy taking money for doing a job. When you're suddenly diagnosed with inoperable terminal cancer laying in your death bed, left dying with nothing but the unknown because your whole life you've never known christ on your hospital bed with strangers around your cause you have no family, just remember how selfish your comments were. Churches pass around a offering plate after every service??? How could you keep a church a float with no offerings?
Vista Granny wrote on Jul 26, 2008 7:19 AM:I found out that Chaplains were paid employees at public hospitals just a week ago, although it was obvious that they were paid at Veteran's hospitals. They do give you the chance to opt out of this service when you sign up for surgery, etc. which is good. I feel that a religious person probably has a preacher of some sort they can turn to already. No need to bring a public type in. Oh well, the cost just gets added to the rest of the mess they call a bill at hospitals.
Charge wrote on Jul 26, 2008 8:41 AM:Charge patients for everytime they use a Chaplain. The patient can call it a donation to the church. That way it will save money and people can still have their religious moments and the chaplains can continue to drive to the hospital.
to Gringo wrote on Jul 26, 2008 9:17 AM:you tell em Gringo.. they've replaced god with money.. how sad.
Jaque to what-why wrote on Jul 26, 2008 9:21 AM:If you were in the ICU for awhile, on the brink of cashing in your life's ticket, trust me, you'd accept any kind of real or perceived "other power" to help you get through...paid or not!
Trust me, I was there.
januaryM wrote on Jul 26, 2008 9:46 AM:We all need to pray for anyone that enters PPH....it may just up the odds of them exiting alive.
Chappy wrote on Jul 26, 2008 10:07 AM:To Diane & What...Why,
Tomarrow I want you to go to your employer and tell them you will work for free and when you have no food and no home then tell us to work for free. I went to college and received a degree, and I provide a service to the public just as the police (yes I retired as a police commander) and you would not ask the police to work for free. I carried a pager and worked as a crisis intervention chaplain for the hospital and sometimes would only get three hours sleep at night, dealing with death and dying people and the loved ones left behind. I have sat for hours with someone who just tried to take thier life and give them hope and let them know someone cares and loves them. I have sat with many 80 year old patients that all thier family is gone and I am the family who is there when they pass from this life. Not many people can handle dealing with death, other wise we would not have a need for chaplains.
To Michael Covert wrote on Jul 26, 2008 10:28 AM:Let's hope you are never in need of spiritual prayer- they may not be around for you at your time of need.
Escondido Healthcare Blues wrote on Jul 26, 2008 11:13 AM:Another sad story about the deteriorating financial situation at PPH. The feel good stories are fading away and becoming less convincing. At one time this instition was a source of pride and a symbol of a "can do" community. Under the present heavy handed and clunky leadership, community support is drying up and the lack of good will is turning the bottom line into a negative number.
Nanchi wrote on Jul 26, 2008 11:14 AM:What a cold bunch. My father died in November, and appreciated the spiritual support of the chaplain. Now my mom is dying, and relies heavily on the chaplain. Hope to God none of you ever find yourself alone.
Virginia Carreiro wrote on Jul 26, 2008 12:04 PM:Healing is more than technology. We need each other especially with the loss, anxiety, pain and helplessness of serious illness. And when you're in the hospital, it's serious. A hospital chaplain is a specialized professional on the inter-disciplinary health care team; her expertise is spirituality. A qualified chaplain must be board certified with a master's degree in ministry and clinical supervised internship in the acute care hospital, with working knowledge of related disciplines in health, psychology, sociology and counseling. Ordained local clergy are not qualified as chaplains; their specialty is parish ministry. If a patient has good support from their minister, the chaplain defers. Also, kind-hearted volunteers do well as hospital visitors, comforting people, but they cannot do care planning with the professional skills of the chaplain. The chaplain works for the hospital, not the church, and absolutely does not proselytize or impose religious expression. Our skill is in helping people find their spiritual strength for healing. We have faith in patients' inner strengths, and we can help with their religious expression, values clarifications, or ethics consultation, such as end-of-life decision making. Chaplains must have well-developed spirituality, multi-cultural understanding, compassion, and knowledge of the healing process, as they contribute to care planning with other members of the health care team. Chaplains provide advocacy, comfort, psycho-social and religious support, and most importantly in the busy, cost-containment milieu of the hospital, listening skills and uncompromised presence for patients in the hospital system. Budget cuts should not eliminate any clinical, direct patient care providers, which includes chaplains as well as doctors, nurses and therapists. The chaplain is an essential member of the health care team. I'm a passionate advocate for chaplaincy and inclusive patient care.
Chaplain Virginia. M.A., B.C.C.
WE NEED CHAPLIN wrote on Jul 26, 2008 12:30 PM:BE THANKFUL TO HAVE A CHAPLIN TO BE THERE FOR YOU IN A CRISIS, YOU LOSE A LOVE ONE , OR HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER SERIOUSLY INJURIED OR HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE NEWS OF CANCER OR SOMETHING. tO HAVE THE COMFORT OF A CHAPLIN WHEN YOU ARE IN NEED, GIVES YOU COMFORT AND CALMNESS, KEEPS YOU CALM AND REMINDS YOU THAT THERE IS SOMEONE WHO CARES. WHAT A BLESSING. AND I BET YOU GET PAID FOR YOUR JOB, WHY NOT A CHAPLIN, THEY ARE EDUCATED AND SPIRT FILLED. EDUCATION COST.... AND THEY DO MOST OF THEIR LIFE FOR THE GOODNESS FROM TEIR HEARTS. NOT EVERYTHING THEY DO THEY GET PAID FOR. THIS JUST HAPPENS TO BE A JOB THAT WAS OPEN AND THEY APPLIED FOR AND WAS HIRED.. SO REMEMBER WHEN YOU ARE IN NEED AT A HOSIPTAL, HE (CHAPLIN WILL BE THERE FOR YOU).. SO PLEASE BRING THE CHAPLINS BACK. YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU WILL NEED HIM...
God wrote on Jul 26, 2008 12:45 PM:Is PPH now going to call god a naysayer?
Support the chaplain wrote on Jul 26, 2008 12:48 PM:I support the chaplain. I do not support Michael Covert.
The truth wrote on Jul 26, 2008 12:52 PM:I pray that Lucifer will show his power in this situation
Patient Care Not Affected wrote on Jul 26, 2008 1:14 PM:PPH claimed that patient care would not be affected. Now the community is coming to understand what that meant!
Palomar Pomerado Health Foundation wrote on Jul 26, 2008 3:42 PM:Hay Chaplain, See if you can get a job with the Palomar Pomerado Health Foundation like some other layoff employees….Like Tina Pope (Michael Covert'S Friend)
Support the Chaplain wrote on Jul 26, 2008 4:28 PM:I support "Chappy" and Chaplain Virginia. I do not support Michael Covert!
boogereater wrote on Jul 26, 2008 5:16 PM:You peeps are morons if you think that chaplains are living the same life that the apostles or Jesus did. they lived a life of servitude by keeping their life simple to the point of staying with others and living off donations. did rome pay for Jesus work? did rome pay for the apostles? i think not. if the chaplains are from God, why couldn't they live off donations?
Mess Left Behind wrote on Jul 26, 2008 7:06 PM:On February 8, 2006, the Palomar Medical Center Chaplin, encouraged the Council to support the new hospital at the ERTC site. 'God wants the new hospital.' Then he retired a year later: www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/30/news/inland/3_04_198_29_07.txt. Looks like he got out while the getting was good.
Jesus wrote on Jul 26, 2008 7:27 PM:Yes my brother Lucifer is the god of this world.
Let God Pay Them wrote on Jul 26, 2008 8:22 PM:If the chaplains are working as a messenger of God then, as their employer, let God pay them.
Hubcap wrote on Jul 26, 2008 10:04 PM:Has anyone ever considered that a Chaplain actually earns their salary??? When I hire someone, it is because that person will be a greater benefit for my company that what it costs to pay them.
When a Chaplain comforts the sick and dying, they save nurse's time, who cost a lot more - and aren't highly trained in spiritual counseling. When Chaplains comfort the families of the sick and dying, they also earn their keep: Just one case of a Chaplain helping a traumatized family member make a calm and considerate decision about "pulling the plug" can save taxpayers thousands of dollars. Also, a patient or family member is less likely to sue the hospital if they receive quality spiritual care. One less lawsuit would pay for two full time Chaplains for a decade!
I know some of you might be turned off by the thought of a Chaplain actually earning their keep, but the hospital is a business and they need to justify every paid position.
In my opinion, full time Chaplains on paid staff is easy to justify.
Peds ICU nurse wrote on Jul 27, 2008 10:55 AM:I do not work at this hospital, but I fully support hospital chaplains. Many are there at a moments notice even at 3 am when a patient is passing and will stay at the bedside for hours! They are a huge comfort for many family members. Our chaplain makes molds of our tiny patients hands to be given to the child's parents. That mold is a special reminder of their loved one that will last for years to come. I am always thankful to see the chaplains, wither they are baptizing a baby prior to death or rejoicing when a 5 yr old leukemia patient goes into remission. They help heal the "whole person" and "whole family" and help free up my time so that I can give pain medicine or life saving medications in an emergency. Chaplains hold a special place in my heart for all the love and compassion they share with the world.
Local wrote on Jul 27, 2008 10:13 PM:Maybe LT can fill in for the chaplains. We haven't seen what his 2 mil is doing for us yet.
I can see wrote on Jul 30, 2008 9:53 AM:that Wally is having fun on this blog! He must be having a quiet week at work.
Prayer or Care wrote on Jul 30, 2008 12:59 PM:It would be better to provide good patient care rather then paying people to pray that they recover!
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