As of: February 20, 2024, 8:00 a.m
By: Gabi Zierz
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With empathy and competence, Sandra Pongratz, Ursula Senninger, Irmgard Brenninger, Regina Eckart-Bracher, Maria Gleißl and Claudia Dorfner (from left) are committed to pastoral care in the district.
© Gabi Zierz
The six women from the Erding Health Pastoral Service offer mental support to hospital patients in the district.
Erding – They are trained pastoral or community advisors and offer mental support to hospital patients in the district: the six competent women from the Erding Health Pastoral Service.
Employed by the Archdiocese of Munich-Freising, they work in the Erding, Dorfen and Wartenberg clinics as well as in the hospice.
Even after decades in her job, head Maria Gleißl is enthusiastic: “In pastoral care for the sick, we can experience in a condensed form what pastoral care means and can achieve.” Because the task, which begins with a conversation in the clinic, goes beyond that.
“The idea is that the patients continue to be supported after their hospital stay – by the pastors they already know,” explains Gleißl.
This includes the sick pastoral staff themselves, who, in addition to this task, also work in parish associations in the district.
This also includes the network with other pastors in the parishes.
Gleißl himself is a regular at the Sophienhospice in Erding and offers spiritual impulses there every 14 days - open to all denominations.
“Nobody should have the feeling of being left alone,” she emphasizes.
This also includes death and grief support as well as funerals.
“We are there for everyone,” says Claudia Dorfner, who is responsible for nursing care at the Erding Clinic.
The pastors don’t wait for someone to contact them.
Rather, they actively approach patients and ask questions.
“It’s always about listening to people,” says Regina Eckart-Bracher, who has been working at the Wartenberg geriatric clinic for a year.
The older patients in particular appreciated this offer and trust grew during the discussions.
It's not just about your current well-being, but also about your family environment, worries and fears about what will happen after your stay in the hospital.
Patients often ask them: “Now tell me something,” says Ursula Senninger, “but we’ll ask and listen.”
She and her colleagues are convinced that pastoral care can also learn something from this approach.
At first, many patients had inhibitions and said: “It's not that far off yet,” reports Irmgard Brenninger, who, like Senninger and Sandra Pongratz, works at the Dorfen clinic.
Older patients would then talk about their lives and their worries.
The clinic employees can also turn to the pastors if they are struggling.
“They are happy when you have time for them and often provide information for patients who need a visit,” says Dorfner.
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The Palliative Team Erding and Caritas are also part of the healthcare pastoral network.
There is also a 24-hour on-call service.
For example, they are notified by the clinic in order to look after relatives if a patient has died.
“There is not a day of the year when a pastor is not available,” emphasizes Gleißl.
This on-call service, which is ensured by a voluntary group of twelve pastors, is a major exception in pastoral care for the sick “and great for the district”.
In addition to patient discussions, masses and word services are regularly offered in the clinics. In Erding, Dorfner also leads memorial services for star children who died before, during or soon after birth.
“I am happy that this team exists,” says Gleißl: “They are women with very different talents and charisms who are passionate about pastoral care for the sick.”