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The Ministry Health Care Parish Nurse Network was formed in July 2000 based on an identified need of the Parish Nurses to have a means whereby they could connect and interact with other Parish Nurse colleagues working in the Parish Nurse Ministry within and outside of the communities in which they live and/or work.
The Ministry Health Care Parish Nurse Network is comprised of Parish Nurses and/or persons interested in Parish Nursing who either are employed in another capacity in one of Ministry Health Care's Hospitals, Long-Term Care Facilities, or Home Health/Hospice Agencies or live in the surrounding communities to which Ministry Health Care organizations provide healthcare services. The Parish Nurse participants share a common bond through their ministering to persons within the congregation or faith communities they serve or the faith communities they reach out to. The Parish Nurses represent a variety of Parish Nurse models: paid - employed by the faith congregation; paid - employed by a Ministry Health Care facility with shared responsibility by the faith community they serve; mixed paid/unpaid hours by the faith community; and unpaid or volunteer hours within the faith community they serve. The Parish Nurses minister in rural, urban, and suburban faith communities and serve in diverse religious denomination faith communities, i.e., Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, etc. Often times, the Parish Nurse serves more than one faith community. The faith community may be their own or same denomination in a different faith community or of another religious denomination.
Ministry Health Care generously supports the Ministry Health Care Parish Nurse network through the provision of a location to meet, refreshments, a networking lunch, notification to participants of meeting dates/location, mailing of meeting materials and a link to the Ministry Health Care Parish Nurse Network through their web site. A Parish Nurse facilitates the Ministry Health Care Parish Nurse Network, which meets quarterly. Participants share their tribulations, and trials, joys and successes, seek and share ideas, resources, camaraderie, companionship and mentorship for their ministry, learn of current events and national occurrences/decisions/discussions that have the potential to influence the Parish Nurse ministry and offer prayers/reflections which guide the ministry. Ministry Health Care Parish Nurses are actively involved in influencing decisions related to their practice, i.e., policy and procedure development, Joint Commission Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO), liability coverage programs, defining roles and responsibilities with the Scope of Practice for Parish Nurses as defined by the American Nurses Association and the International Parish Nurse Resource Center, etc. |