It’s certainly no fun to be in a hospital. Even more so, it’s no fun being there during a holiday. Art Lund was the hospital chaplain, and he and I worked together to make life a little better for patients. We used the technology we had available back then to bring some cheer to patients who would rather be home with their families.
A local amateur radio club had a member who did a great job playing Santa Claus. The club wanted to have him come to the hospital and talk to the kids in Pediatrics. To add a twist to it, we suggested to set it up so the kids could talk with Santa, live from the North Pole. On our patient TV channel we had Santa sitting in his chair surrounded by presents at his North Pole home. Club members used their handheld radios to have the kids talk directly with Santa. The audio of their conversation was also on the TV channel so everyone in the hospital could listen in. The guy playing Santa was really good and the conversations were really heartwarming.
Since there happened to be only a few kids in Pediatrics we expanded it to include other patients. One in particular was especially poignant. An older gentleman in ICU told Santa he knew he wasn’t doing well and “probably wasn’t going to leave the hospital” but he wanted everyone to have a merry Christmas. Their conversation brought a tear to a lot of eyes.
We also had a number of requests from church groups to do caroling in the hospital. But have groups wandering in the hallways could be a little awkward. So, since we could broadcast from our chapel, we arranged to have them sing from the chapel and made it available on the patient TV channel. Taking it further, we called it “Dial-a-Carol”. Patients could call in and request their favorite carols. We did afternoon and evening hour-long sessions. It was amazingly popular! Each session could’ve probably gone two hours.
We did programs for Palm Sunday and Easter services, Maunday Thursday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Eve. Before I left the hospital for my next job, I spent many days going around to various churches in our service area and shooting video. I then edited it into a 45-minute montage with music that could be played on patient TV channel before the regular Sunday chapel service. The experience of seeing the small country churches and the huge, ornate city churches, and everything in-between was really fascinating. What was especially interesting was the local Baptist church wouldn’t allow any video of their church. I’m guessing they didn’t want to be associated with all those other heathen churches.
On my last day there, my friends and colleagues threw a party for me. Art Lund presented me with a certificate naming me a Honorary Volunteer Chaplain. In addition, I received an official Hospital badge with my name and Honorary Volunteer Chaplain on it. I still feel that is the best honor I’ve ever received.