TAMPA, Fla. — The Rev. Dr. Wayne Maberry, Tampa General Hospital's Director of Spiritual Health and Education, is set to call it a career this week after 24 years of service.

“There’s not another place like it!” said Maberry, speaking about TGH.

Also, the last few months have been unlike anything he's seen throughout his career at the hospital. When asked if he ever thought he'd be connecting with famillies using mobile devices and tablets, his answer was blunt.

“I never imagined that in my wildest dreams,” said Maberry.

Like everywhere else, the team of spiritual health professionals at Tampa General have had to adapt since the pandemic took over. The priority has been to make sure coronavirus patients don’t feel alone mentally, even if they are isolated from their loved ones physically.

“The fact that they may have Covid doesn’t change the fact that we see them as a person," he explained. "We’re doing everything we can to help them feel a human connection and touch."

For Maberry, that’s what it’s all about — bringing people together during their toughest times.

Faced with leaving at the end of the week, he said he'll miss the people at TGH dearly.

“It’s not so much the bricks and mortar that make a hospital," he said. "It’s the people,” said Maberry.