Pastoral Outreach Connects Hospitals and CommunityAugust 6th, 2007
Brian Childs, Director of Clinical Ethics and Spiritual Care for Shore Health System (left), visits with Dorchester General Hospital ICU nurse Stacey Kram, whose husband Andrew is deployed for duty in Iraq.
As the soldiers of B Troop boarded buses taking them to Fort Dix for pre-Iraq training, Brian Childs gravitated to the children in the crowd. “I was able to identify far more closely with the children because of my own experience. I could see their tears and confusion and I remembered that feeling very well.”
Childs is the Director of Clinical Ethics and Spiritual Care for Shore Health System. He is one of several mental health professionals volunteering with the Maryland National Guard Outreach program, a partnership of the Maryland National Guard, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Maryland Defense Force. He and one other volunteer are assigned to provide support to the men and families of B Troop, 1st Squadron, 158th Calvary Regiment, who received word of their deployment in March.
Aside from being a clinical psychologist, a Presbyterian minister, and a former Marine, Childs is the son of a Naval officer who deployed five times. He recalled how important it was for him to correspond with his father. “Even though the soldiers today may have access to e-mail and cell phones, I still encourage dads to leave a series of handwritten notes that mom can give to their child every couple of days,” Childs says.
At Shore Health System, Childs and the chaplains on his staff are available at The Memorial Hospital at Easton and Dorchester General Hospital to support patients and families coping with issues such as sudden loss, chronic illness or terminal illness. “Illness is a crisis. It affects how you live your life, your daily routine, your circle of relationships, and often involves separation,” Childs comments. His chaplaincy work is readily applicable to his support of the military families and named loneliness, anxiety about the unknown, and feeling that one’s world has been turned upside down as the most common threads.
“The challenge in both is being educated about anxiety and by anxiety. And dealing with the unknown,” Childs explains. “But people don’t have to be alone. Soldiers often get the John Wayne attitude and patients can feel very private. The best thing I can tell them is that they don’t have to be alone. The best thing I can do is just be there for them.”
Childs appreciates that the outreach with military families expands his contact with the community that Shore Health System serves. “I can connect the hospital community with the greater community and vice versa,” he says. “Everyone hears about the war on the news, but I can promote a greater awareness of what our neighbors are going through.”
Childs discusses issues of concern with the soldiers’ families during monthly meetings of the family readiness group (FRG), a volunteer organization that provides military families with answers, support and practical assistance. He said a common scenario involves what to talk about with a soldier before he leaves and while he is gone. Should a wife tell her husband that the garage door is broken? How do they discuss last wishes? Families also struggle with how to handle hearing things that the soldiers tell them as well as helping children cope with school and loneliness.
Stacey Kram is an ICU nurse at Dorchester General Hospital. Her husband Andrew is deployed with B Troop. Kram writes to her husband daily and generally only tells him about problems that have been resolved. However, she said that wives and family members cannot always keep things inside. She explains, “We need support too. I am not used to doing everything on my own. People need to remember us, too, because it is not easy. We need to be there for each other.”
Kram believes the FRG will lessen the discomfort of the unknown by being a source of information and support. She feels fortunate to work with Childs, who she says is available to help her anytime. She is likewise grateful for the support of her Shore Health System supervisors and colleagues, who have even volunteered to work for her when her husband has time off before leaving for Iraq.
As an Army Reserve nurse, Kram expressed another concern. “My biggest fear is going to drill at Walter Reed [Army Medical Center] and seeing my husband there for treatment,” she says. Childs said he is especially concerned with the post-deployment mental health issues of soldiers and will remain available to them and to their families, as long as necessary.
Childs said the sense of hopefulness and peace he receives from his work is one of the greatest rewards. He responded after disasters like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina and, despite the devastation, found reasons to be encouraged. “Even in desperate situations, there is always hope,” he says. For Childs, service and faith were integral family values that led him to his life’s work of helping others. “I just can’t imagine doing anything else.”
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