Milwaukee chaplains heal by prayer and lasagna
The Rev. Dominic Vitaliano helps deliver lasagna and garlic bread to nurses destined for the palliative care unit.
Healing comes in many forms. On this day, it’s lasagna.
As nurses in the Milwaukee VA Medical Center’s palliative care unit gathered in a small break room, the Rev. Dominic Vitaliano wheeled his scooter through the hallways, followed by a cart containing a piping hot, 12-inch-by-24-inch serving of lasagna and an equal-size serving of garlic bread.
As the gooey goodness was opened, the nurses, clad in their scrubs and surgical masks, thanked the hospital chaplain and prepared to partake in a tasty Italian lunch.
It’s difficult to see smiles under surgical masks, but they can still be felt. And they were beaming on this day.
“We love doing this,” Vitaliano said. “We have lots of outreach going on. Yesterday I got them pizza."
Under normal circumstances, working in a hospital can be stressful. Fighting an invisible virus that has severely altered the entire operation certainly isn’t making things any easier.
And that’s where the Milwaukee VA Medical Center’s chaplains come into play.
The pastors spend their days meeting with patients and hearing their concerns, as well as keeping tabs on the nurses and other staffers attending to those patients.
On a recent Thursday, the Rev. Anthony Harris cruised through the hallways of his units, checking in on patients and chatting with staff.
He inquired about one staffer’s pregnancy – she’s due in just about a month – and chatted with another attendant about her long shift that started at 3:30 a.m.
During a visit with a patient, the Veteran told Harris he had a rough night but was doing better now. Harris helped him dial the phone to place an order for lunch.
Then he popped in on Julie Putnam, a nurse practitioner working her last day in the hospital before retirement.
They talked about her plans and reflected on her time at the hospital. Harris then offered to say a prayer for Julie. She obliged, and the kind, reassuring words brought tears to Julie’s eyes.
“They need comfort as well,” Harris said of the staff. “Some of them will really open up their hearts … about what’s going on in their lives and their families.”
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The hospital has four full-time chaplains – two Catholic, two Protestant – as well as a part-time rabbi and and a part-time Protestant.
Each day they receive a list of new hospital admissions and make a point of visiting with those who request it.
The spectrum for a day can be broad; a few minutes of friendly banter can be interrupted by an emergency medical call or a need to be at the bedside of a dying patient.
“Death becomes so very, very up close and personal now, especially with this virus,” Harris said.
The Rev. Anthony Harris says a prayer for Julie Putnam, a nurse practitioner at the Milwaukee VA.
During the pandemic, visitors are not allowed in the hospital. Everyone wears a mask, and social distancing is the mantra.
That means no handshakes and no embracing. And that has made things a bit more difficult for the chaplains.
“It’s very difficult when I enter the lives of the Veterans and the staff, and I see the pain. … And I can’t reach out and embrace that person,” Harris said.
“The patients have a hard time adjusting to that new reality,” said the Rev. Ed Kopec, one of the Catholic priests. “It’s commonplace that we greet them in a generous and sincere way. Then all of a sudden we’re at a distance, waving hello rather than simply shaking hands.”
The pandemic has also upped anxiety among the staff, Vitaliano said.
“I come to work every day and there’s the danger of catching this invisible enemy and not going home,” he said. “So if I’m going through it, you can imagine the stress some of the staff are going through.”
“It does take a little more to get them to talk about what they are going through,” Kopec said. “It’s a good thing to let them know we’re here – not just for the patients … but for everybody else.”
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One thing that hasn’t changed during the pandemic is the chaplains’ roles as counselors and spiritual advisers.
“As a chaplain, I listen and I care; it’s a ministry of compassion,” said the Rev. Scott Orth, the other Protestant chaplain. “We’re available to whoever needs us.
“The one thing that chaplains do is to listen – to pull up a chair and give acceptance to whatever is said.”
Kopec noted that the pandemic has, in some instances, exacerbated pre-existing problems and anxiety while also unveiling unmet spiritual needs.
“It has brought people to a point where their routine is upset a little bit and they have to readjust their lives in different ways, and I think that has caused people to reconsider that, in fact, we are spiritual beings and we do need to keep that side of us in tune.”
During “normal” life, it’s easy for people to get consumed by materials wants and needs, Kopec said, and fill their lives with sports, concerts and other social activities.
The pandemic has stripped away much of that.
“When you don’t have ballgames and concerts, and all the restaurants are closed, you suddenly find yourself with yourself,” he said. “It causes a little more introspection. Hopefully, that can be a good thing.”
Harris said the pandemic has many searching for meaning.
“There are questions of, ‘Where is God in all of this? How can I be assured this won’t affect me physically, spiritually, mentally?’” he said.
“I tell them there is no guarantee this won’t affect you; there’s no guarantee it won’t affect me. But we continue to do what we’ve been called to do and serve others.”
Vitaliano said in recent days he has sensed more hope among the staff that things are getting better.
“They’re just tired of being closed up and stir crazy,” he said.
Harris said he encourages everyone “to keep moving toward the light. Somewhere down the line, this too shall pass.”
“We must continue to be the strength in a time when others may not have the strength. Be a shoulder to lean on and don’t be afraid to lean on someone else’s shoulder when you are burdened.”
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Though the chaplains represent different faith backgrounds, they’re jobs are much more holistic than the tenets of a certain religion.
They are under orders not to prosthelytize, and they follow the lead of those being counseled.
And that includes outright rejection.
Milwaukee VA chaplains (from left to right): Daniel Fitten, Anthony Harris, Dominic Vitaliano, Ed Kopec and Scott Orth.
“I had one guy, when I went in to talk to him, he just pointed to the door and said, ‘Out!’” Vitaliano said.
“We’re dealing with different people from different walks of life and where they are at. Some are close to God; some are very far away and don’t want anything to do with God.”
Orth said he is not offended by people who reject him because of his faith.
“When I explain myself to somebody, sometimes they’ll tell me where to go, and I don’t take it personally,” he said. “But I tell them I’m there to hear their story.
“One thing chaplains do is hear spiritual injuries, which can come in many different forms. I consider it a holy, sacred thing to hear people’s stories that may include that, and to validate it.”
Orth noted surveys that show more than half of Americans – 56 percent – say the believe in the god of an organized religion while another 33 percent say they believe in a less-defined higher power.
He said 10 percent believe in nothing.
“People hit me with that right away: ‘I don’t believe in anything.’ And I say, ‘I’m here to listen and to care.’
Orth added that studies also show that even nonreligious hospital patients benefit from chaplain visits.
“It is about caring. People come with all kinds of brokenness. … We care for all, no matter who anybody is.”
Harris agreed.
“A lot of people in the corridors and on the floors, they simply want an empathetic ear to really hear them and write their names on the tablet of their hearts,” he said. “They don’t want you to fix them; they want you to hear them.”
Meet the chaplains:
The Rev. Anthony Harris, 53, was born and raised in Chicago. He spent 18 years as a youth pastor and is a chaplain in the Army Reserves. He’s been at the Milwaukee VA for about three years, coming from a residency at the VA in Tampa. He lives in Gurnee, Ill. His denomination is Church of God in Christ. He and his wife have three children, ages 26, 21 and 20. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family, playing cards and board games, listening to jazz and writing poetry. He is also working on his doctorate and board certification. “I am a busy person.”
The Rev. Ed Kopec, 56, has been with the Milwaukee VA about 2.5 years. Prior to that, he worked at a large medical center in Peoria, Ill. – much larger than the Milwaukee VA, he said. Before that, he served parishes in the Peoria diocese. In his spare time, “I do a lot of resting,” he said, noting he reads, prays, watches an old movie now and then or enjoys “oldies” music as well as choral and works for organ.
The Rev. Scott Orth, 56, grew up in the Milwaukee area and has been with the Milwaukee VA for 12 years. His denomination is Evangelical Covenant. Before coming to the Milwaukee VA, he was a Navy chaplain and served three churches. He did his hospital chaplain residency at the University of Minnesota. He and his wife have two sons, ages 27 and 7. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing and taking walks.
The Rev. Dominic Vitaliano, 61, has been with the Milwaukee VA Medical Center for 2.5 years. Before coming to Milwaukee, he served in the Peoria, Ill., diocese. He is an Air Force veteran and was ordained at the age of 33. He spent 13 years as an Air Force chaplain, serving in Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Thailand (during the aftermath of the 2003 tsunami). He lives in the Milwaukee area In his spare time, he said, “I sleep, do laundry, make sure the car is functioning and take care of the house.”
