- Throughout the country,

healthcare workers of faithwho have braved the front lines

of this pandemic for morethan a year and a half

share a special bond.

- [Chaplain] I ask you to undergird them

with strength and wisdom.

- [Lorie] Shift change atVirginia's Sentara Leigh Hospital,

much needed prayer forworkers coming and going.

- COVID really took atoll on the staff here

at the hospital.

Exhaustion, being overwhelmed,

and not sure how to navigate this

and also deal with their own fears

of maybe catching the disease,

and fearful of takingit home to their family

and their loved ones.

But still having the heart todo what they've been drawn to

to provide the care that others need.

- [Lorie] Since the pandemic hit,

hospital chaplains nowminister to employees

as much as patients and their families.

- There was one incidentin particular in the ICU.

There was a young man

who passed away from COVID

and it affected the whole staff.

And so I was asked tocome up the next morning

and have prayer with the nursing staff,

the physicians in the ICU,

as well as the NCP staff.

The whole staff stopped fora while for a time of prayer.

- [Lorie] Many healthcare workers tell me

the most trying task

is serving as a go-between

for the patient and theirfamily members not allowed

in the hospital.

- He was unable to talkso he blinked his eyes.

I said that the Lord is with you,

and he will not leave you.

So at that moment, I called his mother

and put her on speaker.

I said I know you know your son can't talk

but he's blinking his eyes

and he hear your voice.

She said, "I love you."

- [Lorie] Life on the frontlines has been non-stop

and the pandemic causedmany workers to quit,

leaving those behind to pick up the slack.

- I often work extra hours

because I care about mypatients and families.

So therefore, it was non-stop for me.

So my family began to get worried

and said, "You need to rest."

But I told them, "I must go on."

And I can truly say thatthe Lord has kept my health,

he has kept me.

- [Lorie] Now more than ever,

healthcare workers of faith,

and there are a lot of them,

stand on the promises of God.

- When I'm scared or worried

or don't know what to do,

I just go back to the scripture,

knowing that God is here with us always.

And that with Him, nothing is impossible.

- [Lorie] In one of thehardest hit areas of Texas,

Dr. Craig DeLisi says he'sseeing 10 times the deaths

during the pandemic

than in his entire 20 years of practice.

- There's been a lot of tears,

a lot of drives home withtears from the hospital.

- [Lorie] Over time, whatmakes him cry has changed.

- From the very beginning I think

what was hard was the unknown,

and seeing so much fear all around us.

But at that point, at least I think people

were still looking tothe medical profession

and they sought our advice.

They kind of followed counsel.

- [Lorie] Later, however,

he says many people stopped listening

when it came to recommendationslike getting vaccinated.

- To me, every patient, I've lost several

in the last month,

and to me, every one ofthose felt preventable.

And I understand as a believer

in God's sovereignty and the big picture.

Their days were numbered.

He knew when their last breath would be

but it's harder I think to watch suffering

and death when it feels preventable.

- [Lorie] Still he believes God

will use this pandemic for good.

- And I hope that thefruit of this pandemic

will be repentance and will be humility,

and will be people turning to him.

- [Lorie] Lorie Johnson, CBN News.