The March 2010 edition of Palliative Care Grand Rounds, hosted this month by Larry Beresford at the Growth House Blogging Portal, has been posted. Palliative Care Grand Rounds is a monthly round-up of compelling blog entries focusing on hospice, palliative care and grief matters. Check it out!

You may recall that the Alive Hospice Blog hosted Palliative Care Grand Rounds in February. (If you didn’t get a chance to peruse the February edition, it’s still available here.) PCGR was started by the folks at the Pallimed blog last year. You can check out previous editions of PCGR by clicking here.

Nanette Mathe

Sometimes the patient I visit is not awake or alert. Sometimes he or she is sleeping, or has dementia, or is simply far enough along in the dying process so that he or she will not respond to anyone’s presence. Sometimes I am alone with the patient. People often ask what I do for the patient and how I “minister” to him or her.

First of all, I do my homework. I check to find out if the patient has a religious background. I talk to family and caregivers to find out what was important to this person: Perhaps the patient liked music. Is he or she open to prayer? Did the person quote favorite scriptures?

With this information in hand, I sing, quote scripture, or pray with the patient. I believe that there is a spiritual connection between us that is there even though the patient does not respond. However, sometimes the patient smiles, relaxes, or turns his or her head toward me while I am talking. Sometimes not.

My prayer is that God will touch this person with the peace that passes all understanding through song, prayer, or scripture.

Nanette Mathe is an Alive Hospice chaplain who serves on the agency’s Murfreesboro team.