Vestal Medical Center, 1020 Vestal Parkway, Vestal, NY 13850
Phone: (607) 321-2633
Parish Nursing -
an old idea with a new twist.
Think about the places in our community for health care. Is your faith
community among those places? Actually, churches are not new to health
care. They started many of our first hospitals from religious-based
organizations. In fact religious sisters and deaconess's were many of our
first nurses. Faith communities were the organizations that cared for
people in need, brought people together and shared the joy of life with
them. People consist of body, mind and spirit and all three components
need care for ideal wellness. Parish nurse ministers provide the link
between traditional health care and spiritual health.
Lourdes Hospital started a parish nurse program in November of 1994.
The program was modeled after the one started by a Lutheran minister, Rev.
Granger Westberg (1913-1999) in the mid 1980's. He is considered the
father of parish nursing and founder of the International Parish Nurse
Resource Center. He believed that "nurses have one foot in the sciences
and the other in the humanities," and that good health is more than the
absence of disease.
In 1998 the American Nurses Association (ANA) recognized parish nursing as a specialty role. In 2005, the ANA changed the role to "Faith Community Nursing" to be more inclusive of all
faiths. According to the ANA
definition, a parish nurse is a registered professional nurse who serves
as a member of the ministry staff of a faith community. Their role is to
promote health and wholeness of the community.
Most of the diseases in our country are "lifestyle
diseases." One’s spirituality plays an important role in
wellness. A deeper understanding of how precious life really is
and connecting with God may serve as the catalyst to make some healthy
life style choices. To value and respect life as a basic belief of many faiths,
each needs to ask how we are going to care for our precious gift -
our life.
The Parish Nurse Ministry Program has been a natural extension of
Lourdes service, since Lourdes is a religious-based health organization.
To reach out to people and offer assistance has always been a part of the
mission of the Daughters
of Charity. Our program accomplishes two goals: it allows the nurse an
opportunity to deepen her spiritual life by being a part of a health
ministry and it provides a service to members in need of a congregation.
Our program is working with more than 40 faith communities representing at least
eight denominations and independent faith communities. Each faith community's program differs according to the time
and talents that the nurses bring to their program. Parish nurses’
activities can include the following: exercise classes, blood
pressure checks, health fairs, blood drives, home, nursing home and hospital visits, a health
library, prayer
chains, a bed roll ministry, soup kitchen's health ministry project
and
providing educational speakers on various health topics.
Lourdes supports the program by providing a coordinator to help
congregations start and maintain parish nurse and health ministry
programs. We offer a three-hour Introduction to Parish Nurse Ministry, publish a monthly newsletter The
Mustard Seed for parish nurses,
health ministers and clergy and hold monthly parish nurse and health
ministry meetings on the first Tuesday of each month from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
to offer educational opportunities for parish nurses and health ministers.
Our most important goal is having a presence that helps remind people that
health is wholeness, salvation and shalom.
This service is open to all faiths/denominations. If you are
interested in parish nurse ministry or starting a parish nurse ministry
program for your congregation, please call Kathy Medovich, RN, Parish
Nurse/Health Ministry Coordinator for Lourdes at 607-321-2633 or e-mail kmedovich@lourdes.com