Well-being is a matter of health--and faith--for the parish nurses that serve the region.
For the St. Paul's Lutheran church parish in Perham, nurses Louise Tower and Gen Keranen act as "health reps" for the church. St. Paul's has expanded its parish n urse program to a 50 hour per month paid position, and those hours are shared between Tower and Keranen.
The program is being expanded with the help of a MeritCare-Fargo Affiliation Grant, which provides assistance with thestipend and mileage for the Parish Nurses.
Tower is the Minnesota-North District Parish Nurse Representative to the Synod. The Synod office is in St. Louis.
In the spirit of St. Luke "The Physician," it is the mission of parish nurses to "preach, teach and heal," said Tower. Oct. 18 is "St. Luke Day."
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Tower received parish nurse training at Concordia College Moorhead in 2001 and Concordia College Mequon, LCMS in 2006. She has been a volunteer parish Nurse at St. Paul's for the last five years and a member since 1994.
Tower, RN, BN, PHN is currently employed by Perham Memorial Home Care as a Home Care Case manager. Her previous experience includes pediatrics and various research projects for the State of Minnesota.
Tower is vice-chairperson of the Lakes Area Association of Parish Nurses and Health Ministers.
Recently joining the parish nurse ministry is Gen Keranen, RN, BSN. A member of Trinity Lutheran, New York Mills, for 25 years, she is employed by the MeritCare group--serving in Mills, Perham, Detroit Lakes and Park Rapids as a Cerified Diabetes Educator.
She is also an Insulin Pump Trainer and has been a Home Care Nurse and Home Care Clinical Manager.
Church congregation members are asked to notify the church office if a friend or a family member is hospitalized.
At St. Paul's in Perham, there are regular office hours scheduled. The church welcomes comments and suggestions on how to best serve the people of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and associated parishes.
The Board of Parish Health is expanding the focus of the service to visit the hospitalized and newborns. there is also discussion of expanding the Volunteer Visitors program and a meal ministry in 2007.
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THE ROLE OF THE PARISH NURSE
Integrator of Faith and Health - faith, physical and emotional health all impact each other at all levels. The job of the Parish Nurse is to assess the physical, emotional and spiritual health of the congregation and it's members to see where interventions can make a difference in improving the spiritual, emotional and physical health. The Parish Nurse uses scripture and prayer along with scientific tools to evaluate individual needs.
Other area parish nurses include: Pat Doll, area Catholic churches; Judy Lightowler, Perham Methodist; Sue Nyhus and Janet Olen, Dent Methodist; Mary Ringsven, Calvary Lutheran; Phoebe Tomlinson, Dent.
Health Educator - a congregation is an ideal setting in which to use health promotion and education tools to improve the general health of the community to prevent chronic health conditions that lead to disease and disability.
Personal Health Counselor - the Parish Nurse is available to individual congregational members for review of their health needs and for individual education and information.
Referral Agent - The Parish Nurse needs to be aware of the community resources that are available. She does not do hands on nursing care. When needs arise she refers to the appropriate resource.
Trainer of Volunteers - When needs of the parishioner can not be met by community resources then the Parish Nurse looks within the congregation to try and fill the needs.
Developer of Support Groups - There are many support groups already in the community. Diabetes, Parkinson's, Widows and Widowers. If a need should arise for a Christian support group the Parish Nurse could develop it.
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Health Advocate - The parish Nurse could fill in for family members who would normally advocate for participation in health services. The Parish Nurse could communicate with the doctor to ensure that the person follows up on the plan of care, could attend doctor appointments or review and reinforce medical information.
