'Faith Community Nurses' Serve Congregation Members, Body and Soul
by Caleb Heeringa, for the Bellingham Herald

November 22, 2010 What is it? The parish nurse program at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center pairs nurses and health care professionals with local religious congregations. What do the nurses do? Their work runs the gamut, from educating church members on health issues, to giving free blood pressure checks, to checking up on church members following surgery or illness. Parish nurses - often called faith community nurses - also guide patients through the red tape of health care and give free advice on health issues before they become chronic issues.

"Faith community nurses are trained to help the elderly navigate through the health care maze," says the Rev. Dick Cathell, administrator of the program in Whatcom County. "They're able to add that personal touch and work one-on-one with patients."

What makes the program tick? Parish nurses are often church members themselves, using their skills to serve their congregation. "It's based on the idea of integrating the clinical and spiritual pieces of care together," Cathell says. "Faith community nurses look holistically at the mind, body and soul."

Who has the nurses? Mostly Protestant and Catholic churches, though Cathell says the program has trained Jewish nurses and a Buddhist. He and others involved in the work refer to the program as "faith community nursing," because the program has been used in non-Christian denominations across the nation.

Where are the nurses? The program has nurses in 57 congregations across Whatcom, Skagit, Island and San Juan counties, and recently trained a nurse who works in White Rock, B.C. Hillcrest Chapel in Bellingham, Church of the Nazarene in Lynden, and United Church of Ferndale are among the local churches with nurses.    ... View the Nurses Register.

What if I'm not a churchgoer? Cathell says nurses are trying to expand their mission to the geographical area around their churches by inviting guest speakers and by opening their events to the general public. They're not interested in converting people, he says.

"They don't function in an evangelical manner," Cathell says. "They're looking at how people find peace and serenity in their lives and how they can use that to address their health issues."

Are these actual nurses? That's often the case, although the program doesn't train anyone for the hands-on parts of nursing. Many graduates become "health ministers," citizens with a background in health care who want to help their congregations.

Are they paid? Nope. The nurses are volunteers.

What training do the nurses go through? They receive 32 hours of training on how to teach health and wellness issues, and how to best assist church members while integrating health care and spirituality.    ... Review the Faith Community Nursing Basic Course.

Can I be a parish nurse? You bet. The program holds several training sessions a year. Training costs $100, much cheaper than similar programs around the country thanks to subsidies from St. Luke's Foundation, St. Joseph Medical Center Foundation and the Jean Billings Tischler Parish Nurse Educational Fund.

Who started the program? Granger Westberg, a chaplain and doctor in the Chicago area, began a program there in 1984. It caught on quickly and is now used in hundreds of places.

How is the local program doing? Great. Cathell is going to speak on the best practices for faith community nursing programs at the University of Portland this fall. The program has trained 102 parish nurses, up from 67 a couple of years ago. People come up from the Seattle area and down from Vancouver, B.C., to train with PeaceHealth. Cathell says the program's website has had visitors from all over the planet.

What's it like to be a parish nurse? Rewarding, says Tisch Lynch, of Bellingham. Lynch has been a parish nurse at Christ the Servant Lutheran Church for 12 years and works to gather funds to keep training costs down for nurses.

Lynch appreciates being able to help people through their health problems, whether it's recovering from minor surgery or preparing to die. "There are all kinds of different ways to heal," she says. "Maybe it's healing a relationship. Maybe you can't heal the body but you get (the patient) together with a son or daughter they haven't seen in years."

Memorable moment. Lynch recalled the time she picked out a hymn before going to see a dying congregation member in an adult family home. When Lynch asked the woman what her favorite hymn was, she named the same hymn. The owner of the home, who happened to be a member of a barbershop quartet, then sang the hymn for the woman.

Lynch says the time she spent with the woman that evening was a healing time that helped prepare the woman for dying and was a blessing for the daughter who was present and would soon lose her mother. "You listen for that voice that says you should be there," Lynch says. "You answer that call."