Eight "B's" When Visiting Shut-Ins (at home or in a care facility)

1) Be Accountable.

• Always wear your Century Care Team Badge

• If visiting in a care facility, sign in and out at the front lobby, and stop at the nurses' station before and after you go to the shut-in's room

• After your visit, complete and submit a visitation report to the church. if you are using a paper report, write the information and drop it off at the church office. Do not lose the paper reports either before or after they are completed. If you are filing the report electronically, you may simply complete and submit the report from your car or before you make your next visit that day.

• As a Century volunteer ministering to shut-ins, you are helping to care for a vulnerable group of people. Therefore, prospective volunteers for this ministry who will be in direct contact with shut-ins will be asked to give the church permission for a background check, and all such volunteers will be asked each 3-5 years to renew permission for this check depending on the church's established frequency for rechecking our backgrounds.

2) Be Positive. Remember Philippians 4:8 as you make your visit-- "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Do not spend time comparing sicknesses of other persons with those of the person you are visiting. While you may know of others who seem worse off than your shut-in friend, in your shut-in's mind no one else is going through exactly what they are going through. Besides, sharing other people's health crises or struggles is not keeping confidences entrusted to you. Skip politics, and do not respond to political comments you may hear as you make your visit. Do not dwell on problems of society or the church, etc. Be a good testimony for Christ. Colossians 3:17 tells us "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

3) Be Clean.

• • Make sure you yourself are not sick when you go visit –if you are sick, make a phone call or decline the assignment, but do not visit!

  • Be clean in general –do not come directly from an unsanitary setting. Washing your hands is always good. Since you will be sitting on the shut-in’s furniture, wear clean clothes.

  • Do not use scented products (allergy concerns) and do not bring in organic items or cloth items from the outside (allergy and treatment-monitoring concerns).

  • When visiting in a care facility, remember the rule "foam in--foam out." When you enter the building foam in at the disinfectant dispenser. After exiting an elevator or stairwell for which you pressed a floor button or opened a door, use the nearest disinfectant dispenser again. And before you enter a shut-in's room, foam in at the doorway. As you leave the person's room, foam out in the opposite way as you came in. If possible, rather than operating door openers with your hands, use your elbows or lean into the latch or crash bar to open the door.

  • In a care facility, at times visitors may be limited or turned away due to the facility's efforts to keep a disease from spreading within (or out from) their facility. We will make every effort to inform you in advance regarding known quarantine efforts, but if you arrive at a facility and discover a quarantine is in effect, make note of the event and do not argue the point with staff.

4) Be Biblical.

• • Plan on a scripture passage to read to them –Psalms is a good place to look- and be careful to offer encouragement that is in line with scripture. Another option is to read with them the scripture from the previous week’s sermon.

  • Any of the main English translations is fine, just be willing to explain a little bit if you are using an older English version. (In the past, it was assumed that older people were most familiar with the KJV. But in North America the NIV was introduced in the late ‘70s, so some of your shut-ins may actually be more familiar with that version)

  • If the patient is known to have a terminal medical condition and is known to be a follower of Christ, share scripture related to finishing well and Christ’s future assurance

  • If you are not certain of the patient’s walk with Christ, scriptures pointing the patient to God’s care, His grace, and His provision in Christ are appropriate.

5) Be Prayerful.

• • Before you go to visit, pray for the shut-in. During your visit, pray with your shut-in. Pray for your shut-in after you leave. No need to pray long prayers, but be specific in your prayers.

  • mention the person by name while praying, and pray for the shut-in’s family as well (even if you do not know/remember the family members’ names)

6) Be Respectful of Others' Property and Person!

• • If there are no contact restrictions, holding a person’s hand is appropriate if they desire it – use other forms of touch carefully and avoid appearance of improper actions.

  • Do not pick up or touch the shut-in’s personal belonging or possessions unless the person has first clearly asked you to do so.

  • Do not wander or explore the shut-in’s home unless invited by the shut-in to do so.

  • Do not attempt to fix, reposition, or otherwise perform medical care, skilled tasks, or heavy labor, in your role as a volunteer visitor. If you are employed in a skilled or licensed capacity and if the shut-in you are assigned to visit is one of your clients though your employer, let the church Care office know immediately, and we will reassign you a different person to visit.

  • You are volunteering to visit in the name of the church. You are not volunteering not be a care-giver. (If at some time the church develops a formal parish nursing ministry, different rules will apply for those specifically engaged in that ministry).

  • Do not solicit or receive any forms of money (offering checks, etc). If a shut-in asks you to do this as a favor to them, you must decline, and instead encourage the person to mail their gift to the church, or have their family member help them.

7) Be Aware of Your Time.

• • Make your visit some time between 20-60 minutes

  • Be sensitive to whether the person has upcoming appointments that day to prepare for, or whether the person shows signs of tiredness. If you shut-in friend dozes off while you are visiting, do not be offended. Do not try to awaken the person. Simply conclude in prayer and depart the room. Advise the nursing station what happened as you depart.

  • If by chance visiting medical staff come to the home or to the room while you are visiting, give them priority with the shut-in, and flex accordingly. Let the medical staff do whatever tasks they need, if they are okay with you present. (Usually they are on a timed route). If they need to care for the patient without you in the room, ask if you can have time with the person first, and ask to pray briefly with the patient and cut your visit short. If the staff person says they must begin their procedure right away without waiting, courteously leave, and note the event in your report.

8) Be Confidential. Thank you for your commitment to this visitation ministry and to the necessary constraints which come with this ministry.

• • When outside the shut-in’s home or apartment, use care in what you say to the person you are visiting. Do not signal to passers-by any information which might place the shut-in in a vulnerable position after you leave (“I know you are home alone, so…..,” or “I know you like to take a nap at….,” or “I hope your SS check comes on such and such a day,” etc).

  • Do not share the person’s financial or medical information with others outside the visitation team if you become aware of these details. Use care in what you write into the report; do not include specifics if you become aware of a specific medical or financial need. Instead, verbally inform the Century pastor or director overseeing your visitation efforts.

  • Of course, we should not discuss the shut-in’s condition anywhere outside their home room, unless the person has given specific permission to whom we may speak. Just because we know a detail – and even if the person gives us permission to speak to a small defined group of people, we do not assume it should be broadcast throughout the church family or the prayer chain. The Care office gets specific permissions for each of these possibilities before doing anything. No church volunteer is ever tasked with getting this type of permission (that is the job of the Care office), so assume that what you hear and see is for you alone, no one else.

  • As a visiting volunteer you have signed a confidentiality agreement, so you must not go home and discuss the visit with a family member who is not part of the visit and who has not likewise signed a confidentiality agreement. Do not post anything electronically by email, social media, or other means besides completing the visitation report, and do not talk about the patient to others via telephone.

  • Do not use or take advantage of any information which become aware of in the course of a visit in the name of Century Baptist. Do not take advantage of your position of trust. Taking advantage of a shut-in’s trust will necessitate immediate removal from the Shut-Ins Visitation Team, and may subject you to legal proceedings depending on the violation. We do not want that for you or the shut-in.

Additional Details

1. You will receive a mailed assignment as well as an emailed notice telling you who we ask you to visit that month. This will include the shut-in’s address, any shareable details from previous visits to that shut-in, and a contact phone number if applicable.

2. Call to make an appointment where appropriate (usually not necessary in a nursing home or hospital visit).

3. Represent the congregation at Century Baptist Church. (Leave a “Care Team” business card with the one being visited)

4. Whenever entering a room within a care facility make sure you have appropriately washed your hands before entering the room and after exiting the room.

5. Spend time visiting with the person, if the person is relatively healthy this could include interaction (how are you feeling, doing; talk about what has happened at church; talk about your family, etc.), a Scripture passage of encouragement, and prayer (ask the person how we can pray for them). The time frame is up to you, but don’t overstay your welcome.

6. Avoid controversy and emotionally charged subjects.

7. Focus on the person you are visiting and use sensitivity in all areas.

8. When people are not in good health, a short visit including Scripture and prayer (10-15 minutes) is appropriate.

9. Complete the Care Team Visit form, including notes and observations. If an issue arises that you feel needs pastoral attention, indicate this on the form. You can complete this report on line using the software tool. Or if you use the mailed paper form, return it as soon as possible to the church office (Attention: Pastor Dave).

10. Following your visit with them we would encourage you to add them to your prayer list for a season and if you feel so led, drop them a “personal note.”