EFFINGHAM —
Carol Gapsis has been comforting hospital patients and visitors for more than a decade, and now she’s adding firefighters and fire victims to the list since becoming Effingham Fire Department’s first-ever chaplain, a role Chief Joe Holomy said the department needed.
“For everything we see or get involved, our folks need to be able to talk to somebody,” he said.
A chaplain also is needed in times when people have lost everything.
“They’re crushed emotionally, and our firefighters are not trained to deal with that,” said Holomy.
The voluntary on-call position is shared by other surrounding fire departments.
“If a chaplain is not available, one from another department steps in,” he said.
Holomy credits Gapsis with stepping up to the role when no one else would.
Since taking on the role, she has attended drills and shown up during shifts to get to know the firefighters, all while gaining their trust.
“She’s got a super personality. She’s fit right in in a short span of time,” he said.
Holomy said many of the firefighters already know Gapsis as manager of St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital Pastoral Care department.
Gapsis began working in the department in 2001, managing a grief support group before becoming certified as a bereavement facilitator and eventually manager in 2005.
Gapsis, along with others in the department, attempts to see every new patient who is admitted within 24 hours.
“We meet any spiritual needs patients may have. We’re also here for colleagues and physicians if they need someone to talk to,” she said.
Gapsis draws from her 30 years of experience as a nurse, but her gift to help others goes back further.
“My cousins always kidded me ever since I was very small I was always going to be a nun,” she said.
While attending college, Gapsis considered life in a religious order.
“I saw a priest weekly and really gave it some thought,” she said.
She went as far as to gather a dowry to submit as her commitment to an order. The envelope laid on her desk.
“I prayed about it, but I never turned it in,” she said.
Later, Gapsis found another way to serve others as a counselor for a rape crisis coalition. Helping others, she said, is her nature.
“If someone needs something, I try to help them. I’ve been very blessed in my life,” she said.
While every situation and person are different, Gapsis said the most challenging part of her job is saying the right words.
“I always say a prayer before, ‘Dear Lord, give me strength to help this person and say what they need to hear,’” she said.
Effingham resident Ron Seiler, who has known Gapsis for many years, believes she is well qualified for the position.
“She’s not afraid of what she does. She’s very good for our community,” he said.
Gapsis plans to continue meeting the spiritual needs of others as long as she can.
“I would like to think I can help or make a difference,” she said. “When I stop thinking that, then I’ll stop.”
Local News
Related Photos
-
Carol Gapsis, left, speaks with Ron Seiler Tuesday in the Chapel of St. Anthony Memorial Hospital. Gapsis was recently named Effingham Fire Department's first-ever chaplain. Genna Ord
Discussion
October 5, 2012
New fire department chaplain
- Local News
-
-
Drug Court gives grads second chance at life
Greg Evans has been arrested more times than he can remember, spent time in jail, and been a drug user for 25 years of his life. At the Effingham Area Drug Court Graduation Friday, he hoped to put all that behind him. "The only hope we have is here t
-
Street closure
The city of Effingham has announced the closing of North Pembroke Street from Park Hills Drive to North Avenue will continue today, May 15, to allow the installation of a new sewer line.
-
Illinois Senate approves medical marijuana bill
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn must decide if he will sign a measure allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes after the state Senate approved legislation on Friday.
- Effingham County Engineers set facts straight on fracking A pair of petroleum engineers originally from Altamont told an Effingham County Board committee Thursday that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, was much less dangerous than opponents make it appear. Fracking has been a point of contention in many st
- Yoder pleads not guilty to stabbing death A murder suspect pleaded not guilty Thursday to killing his roommate. Charles Douglas Yoder, who turned 52 Wednesday, entered his plea through Public Defender Lupita Thompson during a brief hearing Thursday in Effingham County Circuit Court. Yoder ha
-
Veteran returns to past war zone to celebrate triumph
When Marshall Taggart, 83, of Hazel Dell first went to South Korea in 1952, he didn’t think he was going to make it out alive.
- Teutopolis officials discuss village growth TEUTOPOLIS -- Teutopolis village officials engaged in a lengthy discussion Wednesday about the future of their community. "You can talk about economic development, but until you get young families moving here, the community is not going to grow," sai
-
Community turns to Franciscan decades after death
TEUTOPOLIS -- While Brother Simon Van Ackeren was only in Teutopolis a short time before his death from tuberculosis at age 20, local Catholic youth born decades after his death ask him for intercession. Lisa Siemer, the director of Christian educati
- Board looking to review study contract The effort to study the efficiency of the Effingham County Emergency Telephone (911) System is moving forward, even with questions on how the contract for it will be reviewed. After Tuesday's 911 Board meeting, Chairman Nick Althoff said Intertech As
-
May 16 street closure
The city of Effingham will be closing Kentucky Street from Maple to Mulberry for construction on Thursday, May 16.
- More Local News Headlines
-
