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Parish nurses treat the whole person

Leanne Larmondin * Website Manager
*Anglican Church of Canada*
600 Jarvis St., Toronto ON M4Y 2J6
416 924 9199 ext. 307 * ll@anglican.ca

Toronto -- September 14, 1999
It took a health scare of his own in the early '90s for Rev. Henry Fischer
to discover the benefits of parish nursing.

He became ill while visiting his brother in Pennsylvania. At church that
week, the brother suggested the Lutheran pastor see the parish nurse. The
nurse took Mr. Fischer's blood pressure and within hours, he was
hospitalized.

"Without her, I wouldn't have known I was in trouble," said Mr. Fischer,
now executive director of the Inter-Church Health Ministry in Oshawa, which
co-ordinates 45 nurses in 39 congregations in southern Ontario. Upon his
return home, the nurse even telephoned to check if he had followed up with
his own doctor. (He hadn't yet.)

A growing number of parishes are recognizing that the health of
congregation members lies not just in the spiritual realm, but in the
mental and physical as well.

Parish nurses, most of whom see parish or pastoral nursing as a logical
extension of their clinical experience and their spiritual lives, can be
found in many dioceses, in parishes of all sizes.

Whereas once, nurses would have been expected or even required to check
their spirituality at the door, attitudes in medical circles about healing
the whole person have made it easier for both patients and nurses who are
interested in holistic healing.

"I think the spiritual part of nursing is very, very important in order to
recognize that you're going to treat the whole person," says registered
nurse Margie Mallory, a member of the pastoral nursing team at St.
Margaret's Anglican Church, Fredericton.

"Back when I did my nursing degree in the '60s, we were not feeling as
comfortable with it. Working in the congregation, it's easier to develop
relationships with the parishioners because the trust is already there and
they're expecting us to address the spiritual part of their being. So,
that's kind of nice."

None of the St. Margaret's team is paid, although there is a small budget
for equipment and educational opportunities.

But Mr. Fischer says the goal of his organization is that the ministry of
parish nurses be on a par with that of associate ministers, ideally with
some remuneration. Sixty to 70 per cent of the nurses in his organization
are paid.

Inter-Church Health Ministries has received some funding from the local
United Church presbytery and Anglican Foundation
<<http://www.anglican.ca/foundation/>http://www.anglican.ca/foundation/>, and
all member congregations pay an
annual partnership fee of $500. The group represents Anglican, United,
Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic churches.
"We recognize there are parishes that can't afford the ministry, but we
also don't want to undervalue the work of women," he said. "Many (nurses)
begin as unpaid, but once the parish sees the value of the ministry, well,
I don't know of once instance where they cancelled it. They really start to
see the nurse as part of the pastoral ministry, as part of mainstream
pastoral care."

Nancy Wiggins, another member of Fredericton's St. Margaret's
parish nursing team, agrees with the need for a paid ministry. "You may be at
retirement and have an income, but that won't be the case for everyone," said
the retired assistant dean of nursing at the University of New Brunswick. "It
all depends on your age and stage in life and what you can give."

Retirement also brought Claudette Hayward to parish nursing. The head of
the parish health ministry team at All Saints Anglican Church, Ladner,
B.C., she is a former community health nurse. Her experience is the
parish's gain, and she sees the pastoral health team as advocates for the
parishioners rather than competition to the medical community.
Rather than replace the care parishioners receive from doctors, parish
nurses augment it, often making referrals to other agencies. While they
might hold blood pressure or blood sugar testing clinics, much of their
time is spent with home visits and telephone calls both to parishioners and
to health care agencies on behalf of others. Some accompany parishioners to
medical appointments and take notes while doctors are speaking.
"We know the system and how it works," said Ms. Hayward. "It would be a
shame to just retire from nursing and put that knowledge on the back burner."
- 30 -
Links:

"What is Parish Nursing" - United Church of Canada Observer magazine article
<<http://www.uccan.org/exchange-s9901.htm>http://www.uccan.org/exchange-s99
01.htm>

" Parish Nursing: A Healing Ministry" - United Church of Canada Observer
magazine article
<<http://www.uccan.org/exchange-s9902.htm>http://www.uccan.org/exchange-s99
02.htm>
Parish Nursing Institute - McMaster Divinity College, McMaster University,
Hamilton,
Ontario
<<http://www.mcmaster.ca/divinity/parishnursing.html>http://www.mcmaster.ca
/divinity/parishnursing.html>
Healing Prayer - Anglican Church of Canada website about healing through
prayer
<<http://www.healingprayer.org/>http://www.healingprayer.org>
*****************************************************
Leanne Larmondin * Website Manager
*Anglican Church of Canada*
600 Jarvis St., Toronto ON M4Y 2J6
416 924 9199 ext. 307 * ll@anglican.ca
http://www.anglican.ca
*****************************************************