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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 20 | Number 2 Article 75-1-1953Letters for Medical Staff, Mercy Hospital, Oshkosh,WisconsinCatholic Physicians' GuildsFollow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqPart of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, and the Medicine and Health SciencesCommonsRecommended CitationCatholic Physicians' Guilds (1953) "Letters for Medical Staff, Mercy Hospital, Oshkosh, Wisconsin," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 20 :No. 2 , Article 7.Available at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol20/iss2/748 ===========,;:T;H:;;E;,,;:L;IN;;;A;;C;R;E�Q�UA�R�T;;E�R;L,;Y==========- .,,_ The follo�ing letters were prepared for the Medical Staff of Mercy Ii o�pital, Os�zlcosh� Wisconsin b,y the Chaplain and the Moral. Ethics Committee. m the interest of Catholic patients in �ange1 of death .. The editors of LIN ACRE QUARTERLY p�b­lifsh ihese (or thezr excellence as reminder of tin important di1·ectiveo t e ethi cal code enforced in man,y of our hospitals. To the Medical Staff of Mercy Hospital : The Moral Ethics Committee of the hospital has deemed it necessar ., hpromulg�te a'.1ew one of the ethical directives of tl1e hospital code in f:r ere. It is this : "Everyone has the right and the duty to prepare for the solemn '.11oment of death. Unless it is clear, therefore, that a dying patient is ��ready we_ll p�ep_ared for death, as regards both temporal and spiritual affa1.rs, it is the physician's duty to inform, or to have some re�pons1ble person inform, him of his critical condition " . The ho�pit�l code requires that the physician inform the patient· eith, i1r�c�y or mdirectly. The physician, therefore, does not fulfill his obligati< . Y m orming t�e patient's family, unless he is certain that the famil · · mform the p�hent. The obligation is to the patient, not to the famil � w1 The hospital code does not require that the patient be informed Z, as his critical condition is discovered, nor does it require that the pat· �o� tol� the cause of his c:itic�l. condition. The code merely requires t�:� th, sahent be told about hrs critical condition, in sufficient time to prepare f eath as regards both his temporal and his spiritual affairs. c, The doctor, of course, will be tactful in informing his patient. There i no need for a blunt revelation of his condition [If the p t· t · J tt f f , . . · a ien 1s a ca m ma er-o - act, s�hdlJ'.' rehgious person who accepts life and its sorrows witl �?urage and res1gna�10n, and he asks what the probabilities of life are fo im_ and_ how much time he may expect, he might be told with profit If th• patient 1� un_stable, subject to moods that master him to his own detrimen1. perhaps it wi�l be best to tell him in time to straighten out both spiritual arn tr�pora� aff_arrs, but not before, unless he seriously insists upon knowing ant, c aims lu� right to kno":·· lf the:e is any question whatever of the outcom, of the. �hsease, ans,�ermg queries of impending death by admittin th, pr?�abihty, but �howmg the possibility of recovery, may buoy the patYent', spmt and help him to conquer the onslaughts of his illness.*] Whatever tll<' cas:, ,�hen .the proper time comes, the doctor should leave no doubt in th<· p1at1 ednt s m1_nd that there is danger of death and approximately how "'re·il t e anger 1s. o ' . Neglec� in ob e �ving this p�rt of _ the code will be considered as serion�as neglect m observmg the medical directives of the code. Should the family or relativ:s sternly object, the doctor can tell thern that the moral law and the hospital code require him to inform the t· 1 of his 't' l d't' d h d" pa ien en JCl;l con i 10n, an t us ivert thier anger from him. We ask your full cooperation in this matter. Sincerely yours, (Signed) VERNON G. GUENTHER, M.D. MARCELLUS C. HAINES, M.D. RA Y F. WAGNER, M.D. EARL B. WILLIAMS, M.D. REV. DENNIS A. WoRZALLA Chairman * cf. Handmaid of the Di�in� Physician, by Sister Mary Berenice, 0 S R.N., Ph.D., Bruce Pubhshmg Co., 1952, p. 12. . .F., THE LINACRE QUARTERLY MERCY HOSPITAL The Chaplain's Postscript: 49 This letter gives me the opportunity to seek your cooperation in another matter. As the chaplain in a Catholic hospital, one of my chief duties is to administer the last rites of the Catholic Church ( Confession, Communion, Last Anointing or Extreme Unction, and the Apostolic Blessing) to dying Catholics. Since I lack medical knowledge and medical acquaintance with the Catholic patients, it is impossible for me to fulfill my duty without the cooperation of the hospital staff. Heretofore I have had to rely almost entirely on the sisters and the nurses on the floor for notification that a Catholic was in danger of death. They have been very faithful in fulfilling this duty. But they are not always sufficiently aware of the patient's condition, especially as regards new admissions; and as a result there were some "close calls," and more than once the Catholic patient was too far gone to be able to receive all of the last rites. And so I ask you, too, to cooperate with me that I may fulfill this duty more perfectly. When a Catholic is in danger of death, please notify me, or have the nurse on the floor notify me that I may give him the last rites while he is fully conscious. ,vhen there is immediate danger of death, be sure not to administer drugs that will take away the patient's consciousness until after he has confessed his sins, received Holy Communion, and the Last Anointing (Extreme Unction). Catholics regard the last sacraments as extremely important and bene­ficial. Very many pray regularly all through their lives that God might allow them to receive the last sacraments before they die. Catholics who receive the last sacraments feel prepared for death. Catholic relatives breathe a sigh of relief and thanksgiving when they hear that the patientreceived the last sacraments before he died. The last rites bring a certainpeace to all involved. Here is the reason why: Catholics believe that a good confession willtake away all the sins for which the penitent is sorry. Moreover, Extreme Unction will give him all the grace he needs to face death courageously andto conquer any temptations that may arise before death. It is also the beliefof Catholics that Extreme Unction will take away at the moment of deathall the sins that its recipient committed between the time of his last confes­sion and the time of his death, and will cancel out completely his debt oftemporal punishment provided he is sorry for all of his sins at least becausehe fears God's just punishments. In short, Extreme Unction prepares himfor immediate entrance into heaven, should death be God's will. Finally,Catholics believe that Extreme Unction has the God-given p·ower to heal thebody in some cases. Catholics, therefore, very often have greater hope ofrecovery because they believe God may cure them through the sacrament ofExtreme Unction. Catholics rely on a text from S�. James' Epistle for someof this doctrine: "Is any man sick among you? Let him call in· the priestsof the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in thename of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and if hebe in sins they shall be forgiven him" (5:14). In view of these Catholic beliefs, I think you will agree that yourCatholic patients who are dangerously ill will appreciate as much as I,··myself, your cooperation in bringing to tbe11.1 the last rites. Thanks in advance. May God bless you. Sincerely yours, D�:NNJS A. \YoRZALJ,A

Letters for Medical Staff, Mercy Hospital, Oshkosh, Wisconsin

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Letters for Medical Staff, Mercy Hospital, Oshkosh, Wisconsin

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