Parishes face new obstacles in finding elderly to serve

Stymied by a lack of information, ministers to the elderly and the homebound across the Albany Diocese are facing new obstacles to connecting with those who need a visit, a prayer or a helping hand.

The new mandates of HIPAA privacy laws, restricting the amount of information healthcare institutions can release publicly, makes it even more important for outreach workers to be assertive in cultivating other connections, explained Susan Johnson, a volunteer outreach coordinator with St. Mary's Church in Oneonta.

In the past, hospitals and nursing homes could release the names and room numbers of Catholic patients to their parishes. Now, outreach volunteers, priests and Eucharistic ministers must rely primarily on the memories of relatives and friends to glean patient information.

Connecting

"Hospitals want to communicate with churches. They want us there, so we're trying to work with the hospitals to find ways of letting family members know that the parish is here" without violating privacy laws, said Mrs. Johnson.

Volunteers at St. Mary's hope that extended dialogue with the administrators, chaplains, and activities directors at nursing homes and hospitals will open up a secondary conduit: having staff members inform patients and their family members about religious options upon their admission to the institution.

"Communication is the name of the game," Mrs. Johnson said.

Shut away

Even more difficult, she said, is locating seniors who live independently. They may be married or widowed, living off a generous pension or a meager social security check, or relying on local charities for transportation.

Outreach volunteers often are forced to depend on word-of-mouth to locate such parishioners.

"At this point, we don't know how to find them," said Mrs. Johnson. "We have quite a few shut-ins at St. Mary's. We rely mostly on family members, neighbors and friends to find out where they are. And we advertise in the bulletins.

"Elderly people can be lost so quickly. They stay in their homes, and they might not pick up the telephone to call the rectory -- and, yet, they are in desperate need of someone to pray with them."

Hide-and-seek

At St. John the Baptist Church in Greenville, outreach volunteers are "butting their heads against the wall" in their efforts to jump-start a visitation program, said the pastor, Rev. William Bauer.

Although a parish survey identified an expanded ministry to shut-ins as a primary goal for the parish, a lack of information has left volunteers frustrated.

"We have 500 families registered in our parish," Father Bauer said. "There should be at least 25-30 people who could use our help. Right now, we've only received requests from six or seven."

There may be many reasons for this reticence, but he explained that many shut-ins feel guilty for "inconveniencing" him or other parishioners who volunteer to drive them to Mass.

'Who are you?'

Father Bauer said, "I am getting calls for funerals of people I've never met, and I've been pastor for 15 years. Were they shut-in all this time? A lot of people say that they don't want to bother me, but this is part of my job. It's what I'm here for. It's not a burden for me."

The parish plans to continue talking about ways to reach the homebound. For example, Father Bauer recently sent a letter to parishioners, encouraging them to speak up about their friends, family members, neighbors -- and themselves.

"We're really trying to build up this ministry," he said. "Our people said this was a need, and we're not having a great success in meeting this need."

Communication

For parishes experiencing such frustrations, Mrs. Johnson recommends keeping the lines of communication open among outreach ministries, the homebound, their family, the pastor and volunteers.

Likewise, she advocates that each parish develop a consistent and welcoming procedure for serving the homebound when they do contact the parish.

"This is so important for the elderly," she explained. "You'll get an elderly person who hasn't really been active in the Church for quite a few years, and now is the important time of life when they want God, they want the Church, and they don't know how to go about it. They need to know that there will be a welcome at the other end of the telephone line."

(The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 was passed to ensure the privacy and integrity of patient health information. Under HIPAA's Privacy Rule, health plans and healthcare providers are required to follow strict rules regarding confidentiality, which include safeguarding against the public release of information.)

(9/25/03) [[In-content Ad]]