Nurturing the spirit

General Article

Hutch chaplains face challenges of greater diversity, growing numbers

Rabbi Shoshanah Devorah begins a meditation service. Photo by Clay Eals

Meeting the spiritual needs of cancer patients and their families can be as big a challenge as treating the disease itself.

And now, as the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is in full swing, its chaplains face a jump in the number of patients and families in need of spiritual care.

It's a burden they feel privileged to bear.

"We're also providing care for hematology and oncology patients formerly treated at the University of Washington, as well as former Hutch transplant patients," said the Rev. Stephen King, the Alliance's pastoral care director. "Our responsibilities in terms of patient care could potentially double."

To serve this expanding, diversifying patient population, two new chaplains joined the staff this month: Rabbi Shoshanah Devorah and the Rev. Adrienne Schlosser-Hall.

Per-diem Hutch chaplains Pam Smith and the Rev. Lloyd Van Vactor also have played a vital role in managing the transition, King said.

The new chaplains will meet the Alliance's expanding needs, as well as fill the vacancy left by a five-year veteran Hutch chaplain, the Rev. Harriet Platts, who resigned in January to pursue studies in whole-systems design at Antioch University in Seattle. Platts also is working part time in a staff-support role with UW nurses.

"Harriet provided wonderful, meaningful care to the patients, families and staff," King said. "She showed us a lot of different ways of providing support for the whole person."

Hard work of per-diems

King praises the hard work and compassion of per-diem chaplains Smith and Van Vactor, who put in extra time during the transition between Platts' departure and the arrival of the new chaplains.

"They've been around the Hutch for a long time, so it's been nice to have their expertise," he said. "It's great to have people you can depend on, who are so faithful and provide such wonderful care."

Another member of the team is Catholic chaplain JoAn Choi, from the Archdiocese of Seattle.

"She has expanded her ministry from Hutch patients to include all of the UWMC, coordinating Mass and Eucharistic ministries," King said. "She provides exceptional care to patients and families, and her role is expanding."

Smith and Van Vactor plan to continue their per-diem work with Alliance patients. Beginning as a volunteer chaplain seven and a half years ago, Smith worked as a part-time chaplain and in the past four years has filled in on a per-diem basis. She has found working at the Hutch a privilege.

"I love meeting people from all backgrounds and walking beside them as they face the challenge of cancer," she said. "The way they face this treatment has always inspired and encouraged me. I stand in awe of their faith and courage and learn so much from seeing how they walk through this journey."

Smith also has volunteered with Hospice of Seattle and is active in leading a women's ministries program at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Issaquah. The Hutch, though, has provided a particularly meaningful experience.

"I really believe in the mission of Fred Hutch and the hope it brings for a cure for cancer," she said. "The calling for me is to be a part of that hope."

Van Vactor, who started volunteering as a hospital chaplain after retiring from United Church of Christ's Board for World Ministries, agrees.

Part of a team

"I find it meaningful and fulfilling to work with patients during their difficult days as well as when they're looking forward to going home," he said. "It's thrilling to be part of a team on the cutting edge of treating and hopefully curing this disease."

King looks forward to the spiritual depth the two new chaplains will provide.

"We have been a very good team, and this new group will be a very good team," he said. "Adrienne and Shoshanah will bring great experience in working with people from diverse spiritual and cultural backgrounds, in working with multidisciplinary teams and providing staff care.

Schlosser-Hall, a Mercer Island native, comes to the Alliance from Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., where she helped direct the transition from a chaplain training and residency program to a full-time chaplaincy program.

"That experience of starting something new will be very helpful as we develop a new approach to the spiritual care of oncology and hematology patients," she said. "This is an exciting time, with the coordination of resources, research and clinical care. There are some tremendous opportunities to work with patients and their families. The thing that's unique about a time of transition is that people may be open to doing things in different ways. It's challenging, but it's also exciting."

She especially looks forward to developing long-term relationships with patients and families.

"One reason I wanted to return to oncology was to be able to follow people through the process and work with support groups," she said.

Devorah's career has included teaching urban studies at Stanford, Rutgers and other major universities, 17 years as a tour guide in Israel and, most recently, a chaplaincy at Boulder Community Hospital and Rose Medical Center in Denver.

Inner landscapes

"I came to chaplaincy late in life," she said. "As a tour guide, I showed people Israel's history and landscapes, and I then decided I wanted to help folks become familiar with their own inner landscapes."

Devorah said "synchronicity" played a big role in her decision to pursue a career with Alliance.

"The same week I learned about this job opening, I met a woman in Denver who had been a bone-marrow donor here for her sister, and it had been a life-affecting experience for her. Everyone she came into contact with at the Hutch radiated intelligence and caring. Hearing her story gave me a sense of dedication, of a team that I'd like to be part of. I'm also intrigued by the idea of working with people from all over the world."

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