Living the Mission

While it was more than 2,000 years ago that Jesus walked the earth healing the diseased, lame and blind, I am often reminded that the healing ministry of Christ still lives today. The following story, shared by Glenn Sackett, chaplain at Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver, demonstrates the holistic approach that our healthcare team takes in extending the healing ministry of Christ.

Based on a referral from an astute nurse in the intensive care unit, the chaplain visited a 65 year-old man who was admitted for pneumonia, and who also had a long history of mental health issues, including thoughts of suicide.

The patient shared his story of living on the street under a bridge for ten years, and how he was currently living in a friend’s garage. The patient lamented that his mind had failed him a long time ago, and that now his body was also giving out. He was thinking about suicide, but was afraid that the act itself would not turn out “right.” He was also “afraid of what God would think.” His intense emotional pain was set against a backdrop of persistent abuse as a child—first daily beatings, then later, verbal and emotional abuse, until he ran away from home at age 15. He had always believed he would get ahead if he worked hard, but never reached his goal or married because he couldn’t support a family. Life had not worked out the way he’d planned it.

Exploring what gave his life meaning with the chaplain, the patient identified a belief in God, though not so much in religion. Because he could get lost in deep thoughts, he learned to keep things simple, finding solace in faith, hope, love and charity. He was able to find some meaning after military service by using his medic training and experience to help other street people in crisis until paramedics arrived. Pointing to his mouth where only half his teeth remained, he remarked, “Now I can’t even smile. You know, Bucky Beaver was right in those TV cartoons: ‘If you don’t brush your teeth, they will fall out.’”

The chaplain wondered out loud, “What if you could use the experience of losing your teeth, as well as your life story, to teach people on the street how important it is to take care of their teeth, even if they don’t have much else?” His face brightened a bit as he considered that his fellow street people might just believe him. Considering the threat of suicidal ideas and the helplessness behind it, the chaplain explored with him how to find courage to live, even on days when it was clear that life hadn’t turned out the way he imagined. The conversation concluded with a prayer for physical healing, guidance for the medical team, and courage to live and find new meaning in a messed-up world. Through a tooth-gapped smile, the patient stated; “Chaplain, you have given me some good things to think about: courage to live, faith, hope, love and charity. Thank you.”

So the chaplain, after consulting with the nurse and the attending physician, who both concurred that helping him find some meaning in life again was an important piece of his recovery plans, called a longtime friend in an inner-city ministry. Barbara Martin leads City Healing Ministries in downtown Denver, offering spiritual, physical and addiction recovery ministries. She agreed with the idea, noting that she has a dentist who offers monthly services and could use this patient’s help. She invited the patient to the next meeting and would make the connections that could provide opportunity for him to find hope and new meaning in life.

We are reminded through stories like this; the healing ministry of Christ lives on though the lives of our caregivers in service to the holistic needs of our patients.

The Healing Ministry of Christ

In the last posting, we explored the concept of what constitutes the core ideology of Seventh-day Adventist healthcare. In response, Martin Weber suggested: “There is quite evidently a core ideology of quality mingled with compassion.” I would wholeheartedly agree with Martin’s assessment and would define these characteristics under the core conviction of “The Healing Ministry of Christ.”

Contained within the mission statements of all the Adventist hospitals that I have had the opportunity to work is the statement that we exist to “extend the healing ministry of Christ.” During His life on earth, Jesus Christ spent the majority of His time healing the physical and spiritual needs of those that He came in contact with in an effort to bring them into restoration with our heavenly Father. As Christians, we are called to emulate the life that Christ modeled for us. As such, Seventh-day Adventist healthcare leaders should model our lives and the work of our institutions after the life and work of Jesus Christ. To serve the health needs of others is simply to walk in footsteps of our Lord and Savior.

From a practical sense, Christian influences should be prevalent in word, symbol, and practice within a Seventh-day Adventist healthcare institution. Practical applications would include prayer, spiritual nurturing, care and compassion, which are all motivated from the loving example of Jesus Christ.

Does this resonate as a core conviction of Seventh-day Adventist healthcare? Are there other core convictions that would also be part of our core ideology?

Holding on to what is sacred

As I grew up in the 1970s, most products of inferior quality were embossed with the insignia “Made in Japan.” Today, Japanese electronics and automobiles are regarded as some of the finest products available in the world. If one were to research this transformation, one of the key individuals attributed with this turnaround is W. Edwards Deming. Dr. Deming was an American statistician, professor and consultant who zealously spoke of quality control and process improvement, but was unable to find a receptive audience in the United States and thus turned his attention to Japan where he was readily welcomed. In an ominous predictive warning, Dr. Deming cautioned United States manufacturing that “Survival is not mandatory.” As we grapple with the collapse of the American automobile industry, companies like General Motors that were once titans of the world are now on the brink of extinction.

It makes one wonder why some enterprises flourish while others fail? In the book Good to Great, one of the attributes of enduring companies was the ardent belief and practice of “a core ideology.” While Dr. Deming would remind us that “survival is not mandatory,” research also shows that fully embracing the core values has proven to be successful and enduring.

For Seventh-day Adventist healthcare, what is that “core ideology” that will sustain our existence? As the healthcare industry changes, what are those things that are so sacred that we must protect in order to continue to be a Seventh-day Adventist hospital?

We will explore these questions in the coming weeks but I would welcome your initial thoughts.

The Source of My Passion

My passion for Seventh-day Adventist healthcare is more than a passive interest. During my 20 years of working in a variety of capacities at Florida Hospital and Porter Adventist Hospital, I have been moved to tears by letters from patients reflecting their appreciation for their sacred experience. My passion is not based on my vocation nor the second hand experience of former patients; but rather my passion is based on a personal experience.

As expectant parents of our first child, we joyfully prepared the room, making multiple trips to Babies-R-Us, digesting every page of “What to Expect When Your Expecting” and preparing to add seven pounds of elation to our lives. One Saturday night in mid-July, my wife Cindy went into pre-term labor at only 27 weeks gestation. After rushing to Florida Hospital, the perinatologist rendered the diagnosis of “duodenal atresia” which is the clinical condition wherein the first part of the small intestine is totally blocked. Since the fetus is unable to process the amniotic fluid, pressure accumulates to the level of sending the mother into pre-term labor.

For the next ten weeks, Cindy was confined to bed rest except for the weekly trips to the perinatologist to determine if the high-powered medication necessary to maintain the pregnancy would start to damage the baby’s heart. From time to time, an amniocentesis was performed to determine if the baby’s lung were developed enough to be viable. One has to marvel at the medical technologies that allow a physician to diagnose an issue in utero the size of your fingernail and then have the pharmaceutical ability to stave off a pending delivery because lab tests show the lungs were not yet developed. Amazing technology!

Thankfully, the care plan was successful and our baby was able to be carried to 37 weeks. Unfortunately, the drama was not over. During the delivery, our daughter became stuck in the birth canal and we watched in horror as the monitoring clearly revealed that our baby was in distress. Once our daughter was able to be delivered, the neonatal team started their work with precision and expertise. Every baby is evaluated at birth on an “Apgar Scale“ that evaluates the overall health of a baby on a scale of 1 to 10. Normal healthy babies score in the range of 7 to 10, our Bailey scored “1” in the initial evaluation and only improved to a “3” after ten minutes. While her heart was beating, the other functional systems including respiration and vascularization were not.

I can still remember sitting with the neonatologist as he explained the dire situation and explained that it was unlikely that our daughter would make it through the night. At this point is where technology and science became limited and the miracle of faith became our lifeline. While many hospitals could have provided the physicians and technology to care for our daughter, it is within faith-based facilities that more wholistic options are offered.

As the physicians and nurses swarmed around our daughter providing state-of-the-art critical care medicine, a separate group of caregivers and chaplains focused their love and attention on Cindy and me. They helped us understand the love and strength that only God can provide in situations like these. They prepared us that our dream and wish for a healthy daughter may not come true. Through it all, they provided the “spirit” of medicine.

It is through this experience that I have come to understand and appreciate that in healthcare, faith is a critical component that provides a spirit of hope and support that the hard science of medicine will never fully be able to provide. This is the fundamental reason that I am passionate about Seventh-day Adventist healthcare.

As I have shared this experience over the years, many times I have not revealed the outcome of this story because I want the focus to be on the spirit of Seventh-day Adventist healthcare regardless of the outcome. I am also sensitive to those many families that have suffered through a tragic loss in similar situations. The reality is that our daughter made it through that first night and is now 13 years old and will be entering her 8th grade year at Mile High Academy next school year. We are thankful for the joy she has brought to our lives and based on this experience, I will always be inspired to bring the spirit of faith to those that we care for in our hospitals.

If you have an experience or perspective about faith and the spirit of medicine, I would love to read your story and\or comments.

A passion for Adventist Healthcare

I have a passion for Seventh-day Adventist healthcare. My entire career, which now spans 20 years, has been spent in the ministry of Seventh-day Adventist healthcare. The history of the Battle Creek Sanitarium and John Harvey Kellogg, M.D. has always fascinated me. The focus of my dissertation research explored the confessional identity and core convictions of Seventh-day Adventist healthcare. I clearly have a passion for Seventh-day Adventist healthcare.

If you were to pursue the origins of this passion, you would quickly unearth the fact that I was raised by a Seventh-day Adventist minister and a Registered Nurse. Such an upbringing exposed me to ministry and to healthcare.  It is an easy transition to combine these disciplines into “healthcare ministry.” As the Chief Executive Officer of Porter Adventist Hospital, I fundamentally view myself as a healthcare minister.

In the coming weeks and months as this blog unfolds, it is my hope to engage you in an exploration of the difference that faith-based Seventh-day Adventist healthcare can make in this world and in the healthcare industry at large.  Because of time constraints, I will typically not be responding directly to posts, but I will be reading your comments for themes and respond to those themes in future posts. Please be forewarned that some of the material you share may show up in future publications, both on this site and in other potential venues. In the meantime, please share your thoughts on the questions I’ve asked below and let’s begin the discussion.

As a leading question, it would be great to hear from you on your initial impressions of Seventh-day Adventist healthcare? What impressions do you have? What difference do you think Seventh-day Adventist healthcare can make in this world?

I look forward to our journey together.