A Preview

Since the Metrolink system and bridge are under construction here in St. Louis, I went this afternoon to scout out the easiest way to get to the hospital by public transit and bike so I'm on time on Monday.  And since I was going all the way there, I stopped into the hospital to see what it is like:

 (Photo credit: Matthew Lehner)

The hospital complex is mid-sized - the towers above plus several other buildings behind.  Inside, it was easily navigated and - to my surprise - comfortable.  In my mind, at least, hospitals are freezing cold and stressful places where people rush around making beeping noises.  But on first glance, the hospital seemed calm and friendly.  As I wandered around, several staff members asked kindly if they could help me with anything or help point me in the right direction.  And although the hospital floors themselves are pretty standard, I was delighted to find a lovely little Gothic-style chapel on the third floor:

Chapel (Photo credit: HFWH)

I am glad and content that I will be learning pastoral care here.  This spring, when everybody was deciding where to go for their CPE programs, I worried that I was making a mistake to bypass the larger medical center sites.  As a WUSTL undergrad, of course, all we heard about was the enormity and prestige of Wash U/Barnes-Jewish.  And now as a grad student, there is Yale-New Haven hospital downtown as the obvious big swanky hospital.  Those are great Trauma 1 centers, but there is something freeing about learning in a hospital where I have no institutional affiliation - a place where I've never had to explain why I switched out of the biomedical sciences into a religious studies major, where I've never tried to justify being a divinity student against the more obvious utility of the medical students down the hill.  So CPE here will be it's own blank slate.  I'm just a normal person walking into a normal hospital that cares for people who are sick. This place seems fitting to me, like when you try on a pair of shoes and they just feel right.

Speaking of which (best for last), I got new shoes!  I needed some close-toed flats that would be comfortable to wear around the hospital, and so Lauren and I went to the mall.  Pretty cute for $27!

Hospital Chaplaincy Footwear (Photo credit: Me!)