HEALTAHR TCARE
THE PEACE AND COMFORT
OF SPIRITUAL CARE
By Rafael J. Sciullo
Rafael J. Sciullo
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 137
It is a great joy serving and helping
others. I started out in religious life
studying as a Franciscan friar for
10 years and wanting to do good for
the community. Later I found my way
to health care, supporting the elderly,
cancer patients and persons living with
AIDS as a medical social worker.
In 1994 my path changed again, meeting
the pioneer of hospice care in the U.S.,
Florence Wald. She became my dear friend,
mentor and inspiration to join the hospice
movement. She taught me the beautiful
lesson that the miracle of hospice transpires
through openness, the mind matched with
the heart and the uplifting of the spirit.
Suncoast Hospice is honored to walk
along these extraordinary journeys of care
and comfort for patients – body, mind and
spirit. We help them to live and die well and
support healing for their families. Pastoral
Care Week: Hospitality – Cultivating Space
is October 20 to 26, a special time to shine
light on the many benefits of spiritual care
in hospice care.
Our spiritual care coordinators, like
Rev. Lissa Bradford at our North-Pinellas
Care Center, are specially skilled to listen
to life stories, honor beliefs and connect
to additional clergy resources needed.
Bradford concentrates on creating a sense
of safety and calmness in the wake of crisis.
“People who come here (Care Center)
have had some time of trouble. When
they first arrive, they are so tired and the
medical team works to get their symptoms
well managed. My job is to meet them
where they are and to hold them in a safe
space where they can have the freedom
to let out what they have been holding in
for a long time. Sometimes people are not
religious but have a deep connection with
nature, family or other higher power. I have
no agenda except to see what emotional or
spiritual support they need and how I can
help in some way,” Bradford explained.
Her first career was in television news
production. She then felt called to serve
in ordained ministry, hospital chaplaincy
residency and hospice care, which
comforted her mother.
“I was at my mother’s bedside when
she died. Her passing was peaceful, quiet
and gentle. It was the kind of death that
everyone hopes for a loved one. Hospice is
about living in peace and comfort. I knew
God had a plan for me. Every person needs
to be loved, respected and honored. Our
job is to be ambassadors of love, peace and
no drama,” she expressed.
Miranda Harrison-Quillin works as a
spiritual care coordinator on the Burgundy
care team in North Pinellas County. She has
spent her life in faith and service, including
seminary, clinical pastoral education
(CPE), chaplaincy, overseas ministerial
and community service and local disaster
relief work. Like Bradford, she felt drawn
to the hospice mission after her family’s
care experiences.
“I knew that my calling was to serve
God and to serve people. I found my heart
pulled here and that their pioneering
hearts and other beautiful organizational
values aligned so much with my own
personal values. The kind of care that
hospice provides is for all people. Both of
my maternal grandparents died in hospice
care, my mother died in hospice care,
and my aunt is a hospice nurse. Hospice
professionals aren’t afraid to go to where
it’s painful. Care wasn’t just something
that they (care teams) provided, it was
something that they felt. It was very
personal,” she shared.
Her focus is to be a strong and nurturing
support in care.
“A spiritual care coordinator should be
self-aware and non-anxious and should
have the capacity to hold the breadth of
emotions and experiences at the end of life.
There may be pain, joy, celebration, guilt,
anger, fear or frustration. I hope that the
patients and families in my care are able to
be real and vulnerable. I hope I provide a
safe place for them to ask their questions,
even when their feelings are painful and
their questions don’t have answers,” she
added.
We are committed to bringing peace
and comfort in every journey. Visit
SuncoastHospice.org to learn more about
our care and career opportunities. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Rafael J. Sciullo is president
and CEO of Empath Health, a nonprofit
integrated network of care for those affected
by chronic or advanced illness. For more
information about services, call (727) 467-7423
or visit EmpathHealth.org.