Dear Friends,
   I hope you are having a good day, and that you are making it a good day for those around you at home, school, or work as you respond to God's love for you and practice Jesus' command to love your neighbor as yourself. 
  I want to write to you today about how the new privacy laws impact pastoral care in our congregation, particularily hospital and other institutional visitation and how we share information about one another with one another. 
  Overall, I think the laws are good.  It is important that our medical records, for example, have privacy, and I think it is important that people be able to choose privacy as well.  Many people really don't want others to know the diagnosis of their illness, for example, or to have their name listed in the bulletin under "those we pray for."  That is just fine; this does not mean this person is a bad person, and we should honor their privacy preference.  On the other hand, this takes some getting used to because we are used to doing it differently, and we are curious about others, sometimes for good caring reasons and sometimes not for such good reasons; we can be nosey.  Sometimes it just isn't "my business."  And it is ok to say that and to hear it.
What does this mean for us?  It is now very important for you or your family to notify the pastor if you go into the hospital if you have any desire for me to visit you.  When admissions asks you if you have a church, do not say, "Lutheran."  Rather say, "American Lutheran in Castlewood;" be that specific.  If you are asked if you want them to notify me, if you do, tell them "Yes."  I don't read minds, and I really shouldn't assume, from a 3rd party telling me, that you want a visit.  If they were to tell me, but I haven't heard from you, your immediate family, or the hospital, that you are hospitalized. I should really say something like this to that concerned 3rd party, "I appreciate your concern.  Would you call the family or patient and ask them if it's ok for you to tell me and to ask me to visit."  I do very much want to minister to you in your time of need.  However, I do not want to impose myself on a person who may not want a visit.  A few people see "the Pastor coming" as the grim reaper or have other reasons for not wanting a visit.     
It may be a change to do it this way, but we can get used to it, and still do a very good job of caring for one another.  It is just a matter of honoring privacy and, therefore, checking with people, not saying more than the patient expressly asks us to say and when in doubt to say nothing with kindness.  Again, family of the hospitalized person be sure to let the pastor know or ask someone close to you to let us know. Good health to you.  God bless.
                  Pastor John