LA chaplains look to create ‘bridges’ with isolated coronavirus patients
When asked if ministering to patients with the coronavirus (COVID-19) at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Ventura and St. John’s Hospital in Camarillo was different from other patients, chaplains Father Calin Tamiian and Veronica Marchese needed a moment to explain.
“Yes and no at the same time,” Father Tamiian answered during a teleconference interview. The coronavirus, he explained, is just one of the types of contagious diseases that chaplains are trained to confront in their field of ministry.
But for the 45-year-old Eastern Rite Catholic priest, one of the most important parts of chaplaincy is “the feeling touch of the ministry.”