REV. ELLEN WILLIAMS, PhD, is a board-certified hospital chaplain and the manager of Spiritual Care for Health First. One of her clinical roles is crisis care chaplaincy. In this column for Space Coast Daily, Rev. Williams explains that when a patient’s heart stops in a hospital, a Code Blue is called, and she is among those responding to the medical emergency. Her role is to counsel and comfort the family present at the time. 

Henry was standing at the head of the bed when I entered the room, wide-eyed in the face of the organized chaos of doctors, nurses and staff responding to a Code Blue alert. His wife, Lois, had been admitted several days earlier suffering from the complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Now, she was in full cardiac arrest.

I am Rev. Ellen Williams, PhD, BCC, the manager of Spiritual Care at Health First. One of my roles is to provide crisis care chaplaincy, mostly at Holmes Regional Medical Center, where Henry and Lois were. 

Their hospital room swarmed with responders coordinating chest compressions, airbag ventilation, defibrillation shocks and intravenous stimulants. Code Blue is a hospital-wide alert. It’s high stakes, and the rush of rapid response team members can be high stress – even traumatizing – for family members witnessing their loved ones be the focus of such frenzy. 

As a crisis care chaplain, I’m a member of this rapid response team. My role is to provide emotional and spiritual support for patients, families and staff during and after a crisis event. Handholding and prayer, while important, are only part of a chaplain’s contribution to the rapid response team.

Approaching Henry, whose eyes were locked on the personal drama before him, I gently laid a hand on his forearm to get his attention without startling him. 

“Hello, Henry,” I said, above the noise of the code. “I am Chaplain Ellen, here to offer support.” 

Glancing briefly at me before returning his attention to his wife, Henry said, “I was talking to her a moment ago, and she seemed to be listening. She was breathing just fine, and then the alarms started going off and people came running into the room. So many people. Why did this happen?”

READ the full column at Space Coast Daily HERE.