The patient in ICU is apparently not married. A woman by the name of Martha is at bedside and said she is his girlfriend, of two years. As a Chaplain my next step is to let the staff know about “Rose” the sister. I’m so blessed to work with some awesome Doctor’s and Nurse’s. As a Chaplain you are part of the medical team. So, do not be afraid to communicate.

After talking to the Doctor of record for the patient, he asked me to contact the sister, and see if she would come in. He is concerned about some of the results that have come back and would like to talk to the family.

NOTE: Number one rule: A Chaplain cannot diagnose; we cannot say what happened. We cannot say test results are a concern. Calling a family member can be difficult if you do not feel comfortable have the RN call. Always follow your hospital policies.

I was able to talk with Rose who said she lived about 2 hours away. She would be there as soon as she could. I noted that I spoke with the sister and when we might expect her in the chart. I told the RN and informed the Doctor and he told me he would call me when she got there. With other patients to see you move on.

One of the most important things is legitimate next of kin. I can’t emphasize this enough. The bible tells us a man will marry and become one. Legally (medically) that little piece of paper means, one can speak for the other, unless one or sometimes both are deemed to be non-decisional. You might often see this in married couple where one has Alzheimer’s. One other way is that if the spouse chooses a different POA and completes a power of attorney form (POA) naming someone other than a spouse. Or, a surrogate can be completed at the hospital by the Doctor. If there is no legal spouse then the next of kin goes to Mother and/or Father followed by the siblings, oldest first moving down the line. EVERYONE should fill out these forms. You can print them on line. They are truly one of the most important things you can do for your loved ones. (Perhaps later I will talk more about these forms) This is a must, for a hospital Chaplain this is something we deal a great deal with daily. I digress.

As a Chaplain, you must listen to the Spirit. More times then I can count, I have gotten a heads up, gut feeling, that something is not going to work out well. The Lord will always put you were you need to be. Is this one of those cases?