Florida Catholic | Hospice Ministers Bring Christ To Those Nearing Death

Hospice ministers bring Christ to those nearing death

PAT LANGFORD | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 07.03.08

WEST PALM BEACH | One can assume that ministering to those in the last moments of life must be both a challenge and a rewarding experience.

“We feel very, very good about what we do,” said Mary Behr, who visits Hospice patients with her friend Betty Conover. “We bring the host, the Eucharist, to the Catholic patients who can receive. They have visiting families and very often the family would like to receive if they also are practicing Catholics.”

“What we do is what we consider a Communion service,” Conover said.

The two women are parishioners of St. John Fisher Parish in West Palm Beach. Both are trained extraordinary ministers of holy Communion who have the special job of bringing Christ to the dying and their family members at Hospice of Palm Beach County’s main facility – the Charles W. Gerstenberg Hospice Center.

The women visit twice a week to serve the patients and their guests.

“We do prayers, of course, leading up to giving Communion,” said Behr. “We also do prayers for the dead if that occasion happens.”

Nonprofit Hospice of Palm Beach County, founded in 1978, cares for more than 1,000 patients daily throughout Palm Beach County.

Behr, a volunteer at Hospice since the mid ’90s, discovered the organization when her sister was a patient there. That experience led to the launch of her new volunteer career.

“She got the most wonderful care,” Behr said of her sister’s hospice stay. “It just occurred to me, because I was retiring around that time, that in my days of leisure perhaps I should volunteer for something. That was 13 years ago and I’m still here.”

Conover’s volunteer efforts at Hospice began after she joined the Legion of Mary organization, a group that shares a devotion to Blessed Mother. After the death of popular priest who ministered at Hospice, Father Joseph Pucci, Conover was invited to step in and be a minister.

“Father Pucci … visited here every day,” Conover said. “And when he died, the Legion of Mary was asked to take over his mission. I was happy to be one of the ones who was appointed, more or less, to do that. This is my 11th year.”

There are 36 beds at the Gerstenberg facility. Behr and Conover get a printout with the names of the Catholic patients. They check with a nurse in charge to determine the patient’s condition and if family members are visiting.

“They make such a difference to our patients and our families, and also our staff,” said Sue Deakin, senior director of community affairs at the Hospice of Palm Beach County. “I know both these ladies are often asked, ‘How can you do this? It must be very difficult.’ And as they said it is very rewarding to them.”

“Not all volunteers are able to do that,” Deakin explained. “We’re very fortunate to have volunteers who are so dedicated and come in twice a week and provide such a valuable service.”

Conover admits that, at first, she was a bit apprehensive, but that feeling was put to rest. Now she gets a great deal of enjoyment out of doing some of God’s work on earth.

“To begin with, I wasn’t sure I was going to able to do this,” she said. “I found out, much to my surprise, that it was a joy to be able to come, and it has never stopped being a joy. I always get more out of it than I give.”

Deakin said Hospice is blessed to have Behr and Conover, who regularly visit every Tuesday and Friday, come rain or shine.

“Our whole philosophy of care focuses around comfort, compassion and quality of life,” Deakin said. “Both Betty and Mary certainly embody those principles of patients and families first, doing whatever it takes and providing that quality of life – not only for the patient but … oftentimes it’s for the family as well.”

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