Phoebe Vs. COVID: Pandemic tests, renews faith of Phoebe chaplain

ALBANY — Will Runyon, the manager of chaplaincy services with Phoebe Putney Health System, sometimes gets a far-away look as he tells his stories of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s the look of a man who has been at war.

“One day in April,” Runyon says, “we lost nine patients in that one day. I remember going from room to room to room to room with the doctors and thinking, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ It was like following a mass murderer around.

“So many times during this pandemic, I conducted virtual visits with family members of our patients, and I’d turn my iPad toward the patient for a final look. These Facetime visits became end-of-life visits.”

Runyon talks openly of his fear as he watched Phoebe staff treat the hundreds of patients who came to the health care facility seeking help. He admits he felt a helplessness as the numbers kept climbing with no early end in sight.

“There were a few months where I dreaded going to work, where I’d watch caring staff work themselves to sheer exhaustion,” he said. “I’d get here, go to the (daily) command meeting, then gown up and visit the rooms, trying to offer some kind of comfort. I’d do virtual visits all day, go home, strip in my carport, shower, then isolate myself from my family.”

Such daily dealings with the sick and dying exacted a toll on Runyon.

“Sure, this tested my faith,” he said in response to a question. “It tests you just in how you see God in all this. You see a family praying for healing for their loved ones, and you question how God is involved in this.”

When Runyon was at a low point in his service, Phoebe brought on a second chaplain, Joey Holland, which helped ease the daily burden.

“That was a comfort for me,” Runyon said. “Having him here to help carry the load was a blessing.”

Runyon said being a part of the Phoebe effort to combat COVID has impacted him in a number of ways, many of them good.

“I think I’m a better chaplain for having gone through this,” he said. “It’s taught me patience. It also helped me to not take for granted the time we have here. It’s led me to look differently at my own mortality — at death — and to look at it without fear. It’s also helped me be a better advocate for Phoebe, for the staff and the patients. It’s allowed me to develop some deep friendships, too.

“I had my best friend from high school call during all this and talk about what we were going through. He said, ‘Man, you’ve been through war.’ He’s right. I saw more death here in a year and a half than I’d seen in my previous 10 years as a chaplain. It’s been pretty surreal, learning to deal with the fear. But it’s confirmed for me the ways I believe and see God.”

Staff Photo: Carlton Fletcher