Tricia Olson
August 2020
Tricia
Olson
,
RN, MSN, CCRN, CEN
Intensive Care Unit
Mid Coast Hospital
Brunswick
,
ME
United States

 

 

 

I am the Catholic Chaplain for MCH. This week one of my Catholic patients was in the ICU diagnosed with COVID-19. The patient and family are devout Catholics and the wife wished to have the patient receive the Sacrament of the Sick (formerly Last Rites). Tricia stepped up to go into the room with swabs and the holy oil and applied it to the patient as the priest read the prayers outside the room. As we recorded the event on video, Tricia stayed holding the patient's hand and stroked his arm as the prayers continued. The wife, while in deep sorrow, was comforted by seeing Tricia perform this small act of love that the wife would have done if she could have been with her husband. At a time of great grief and suffering for the family, Tricia's selfless act of compassion brought the only bit of comfort the family had experienced in over a week. Not everyone would have felt comfortable stepping into the middle of a deeply religious event and performing the actions of a priest. Tricia was ready to do whatever it took to bring some comfort to this family under difficult circumstances. She showed all of us MCH chaplains gathered there her tremendous heart and a lesson in leadership to all the young nurses on the unit.