Wellness Ministry

[nightingale, RN]

Interesting Website:

http://www.trinityroselle.com/parish_nurse/parish_nurse_program.htm

Wellness Ministry

Nancy N. Reese Habermeier,

R.N., B.S.

Parish Nurse

"I was hungry and you gave Me food: I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in: I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me..."

- Matthew 25:45

Optimal wellness

Optimal wellness is promoted at Trinity Lutheran Church through Parish Nursing. Optimal wellness means:

Living to the best of one's potential

Preventative health care as an expression of our stewardship of the gift of life God has given us

A caring ministry to the sick

History

Health and healing have been central to the faith tradition since Old Testament times where the priest was the teacher, worship leader and health promoter. In the New Testament, we see Jesus Christ as the example of a caring ministry and healing. The early Christian church had role models such as Phoebe and Dorcas, who would minister to the members both physically and spiritually.

In 1836, Theodore Fliedner and Wilhelm Lohe founded an institution that trained deaconesses, both teaching and nursing. The nursing deaconesses were the forerunners of contemporary visiting nurses, Fliedner considered these women to be great contributions to the life of the church. Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing, studied under Pastor Fliedner.

Dr. Granger E. Westberg who started the term "parish nurse" and formed contemporary healing ministry concepts. A program for parish nursing began in Chicago in 1984

Application

The Parish Nurse does not offer hands on treatment but practices in 5 roles:

Health Educator -offered on an individual (confidential) basis and through programs, display, articles and resource material.

Personal Health Counselor -listens and supports during times of concern, visits home, hospitals and nursing homes, performs blood pressure screenings and personal health assessments with concernplaced on wholistic wellness: physical, psychological and spiritual.

Referral Source -assists with utilizing services and resources in the community.

Facilitator-supports and trains volunteers to respond to the needs of the community and congregation.

Integrator of faith and health-participates with prayer and reading Scriptures acknowledging the effects of anxiety, doubt, fear, guilt and faith on health and healing.

"Do you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were brought with a price. So glorify god in your body."

I Corinthians 6:19-20

Wellness Program Clinical Site

CPR

First Aid

Personal Health Counseling

Health Education

Referral Source

Screenings:

Cholesterol

Glucose

Osteoporosis

Abdominal aortic aneurysm

Carotid blockages

peripheral artery disease

Flu Shots

Individual needs

Trinity is a clinical site for Nursing Students from:

Concordia University

West Suburban College of Nursing

Graceland College

Northern Illinois University

St Xavier College

These students have used Trinity as a clinical site, and they have conducted programs that educate and empower our community.

B.:)