“The power of God must be shown these days”

Health professionals are the ones who most deal with and directly witnesses the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the population.

Long working hours are combined with constant exposure to the spread of the virus and a deep perception of death, that requires much more than medical skills. Managing the situation with emotional sensitivity and spiritual strength is also a challenge for evangelical healthcare workers.

EVANGELICAL HOSPITAL SETS UP AN AREA FOR COVID-19 PATIENTS

An example of this is the Nou Hospital Evangèlic (New Evangelical Hospital), in Barcelona, Spain. I is receiving patients diagnosed with the Covid-19 to “support other hospitals that receive the greatest number of cases, so that they, in their turn, can serve more people”.

“We have an area for these cases and that is already completely full, so we have had to designate a new space”, says the hopital's manager, Reyes Gualda.

The situation requires an extraordinary effort from the entire hospital, both the medical and cleaning personnel. The basic material are “scarce”, they admit.

In this complicated scenario, all planning is continually modified to fit changing needs. That is why the Nou Hospital Evangèlic point out that they do not know “what will happen in the coming days” and ask for “prayer so that the team knows how to remain calm, have a clear vision and be successful in decision-making”.

“THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS PANDEMIC IS REALLY EXPENSIVE”

The Nou Hospital Evangèlic also explained that they “have had to hire more people. We are looking for people to work in the hospital. We need nurses”.

Despite they have the area with patients diagnosed with Covid-19 isolated, up to 40% of the health workers at the center are affected by the virus and 25% are in quarantine, not yet knowing if they have been infected.

In addition to the need for prayer and staff, the hospital also warns about the economic consequences of facing a crisis like this.

“The management of this pandemic is really expensive. From the material, to the human resources that need to be well equipped”, says Gualda. That is why they have launched several initiatives, to obtain material and to alleviate the extraordinary expense that the center faces these days.

One of the initiatives is a campaign of the Bible Society that seeks to generate donations that will go entirely to the hospital. The Coronavirusmarkets.org platform has also donated face masks for Nou Hospital Evangèlic and the team of volunteers continues to work from home, making plastic bags to protect the gowns, “just in case we do not receive more”.

SPIRITUAL AND MEDICAL CARE

The doctors at the Nou Evangèlic hospital “call the relatives of the patients every day to report on their condition”. They have also made tablets with video cameras available to patients who do not have mobile phones, they have make the televisions in the rooms free, and will soon create an information section on their website to report the latest news of the center.

“We have created a support group led by the hospital psychologist, the spiritual counselor and the volunteer coordinator, who is in charge of calling relatives to calm them and manage the anxiety they are experiencing these days”, says the hospital manager.

According to the manager, “people are very nervous not being able to see the relatives they have in the hospital, and worried about them”.

A CALL TO PRAY: “THE POWER OF GOD MUST BE SHOWN”

The Nou Hospital Evangèlic calls the churches to pray for their work during these weeks. “The power of God must be shown these days, and we ask for it through prayer”, Gualda points out.

“We ask for your support in prayer so that, in the midst of this pandemic, the hospital can continue to be a light. And also for wisdom and creativity, because the circumstances exceed our capacities. We have no doubt that God will guide us”, she concludes.