Faith Community Nursing

FCN

Faith Community Nursing, formerly called Parish Nursing, is the blend of nursing and ministry promoting the wellness of body, mind and spirit for individuals of all ages. Faith Community Nurses are Registered Nurses prepared to work with members of a local congregation in many ways:

  • Visit members in homes or hospitals
  • Counsel members on health-related issues
  • Assist in obtaining needed health services
  • Help members understand the relationship between body, mind and spirit
  • Assist in adapting important lifestyle changes
  • Teach classes on how to maintain good health
  • Provide health screenings
  • Develop support groups within the church
  • Coordinate congregational volunteers

For resources, information and support to help your local church establish and continue its own Faith Community Nurse Program, please email fcn@elimcare.org or call (952) 259-4461.

See what Faith Community Nursing can mean for your church.

Faith Community Nursing Advisory Board

The Elim Care Faith Community Nurse Advisory Board is an active, hands-on partner of the Elim Care Faith Community Nurse Program (FCN).  Their mission is to actively encourage, support and develop Faith Community Nursing by planning educational seminars, providing prayer support and program direction.

The Elim Care Faith Community Nurse Advisory Board includes the following members, left to right: Dee Huanca, FCN, First Free, Minneapolis;  Mary Van Der Werf, FCN, Revive Church of Brooklyn Park; Mary Martin, FCN, Oxlip EFC, Isanti ; Dave Kiel, Elim Care VP of Fund Development and Spiritual Care; Joanne Hall, Elim Care FCN Director; Pastor Dan Osborn, Waterville EFC ; Cynthia Dainsberg, RN, FCN Calvary EFC, Walker; Jim Struve, MD, Trinity Lutheran, Minnehaha Falls; not pictured: Kimberley Meyer, RN, EdD, Bethel University; Shelly Rock, FCN Educator.

Director of Elim Care Faith Community Nursing

Mary Martin, RN,BSN,FCN

ELIM CARE DIRECTOR OF FAITH COMMUNITY NURSING

Resources and Tools

crisis hotline number

Education

Policies and Procedures

Tools and Guides

Spiritual Care

Nursing

Documentation Tools

  1. Client-Family Intake Form
  2. Narrative Form
  3. Parish Nurse Documentation Form
  4. Parish Nurse Referral Form
  5. Church Health Center Documentation Tools
  6. Documentation with the Omaha System
  7. Henry Ford Documentation System for Parish Nurses

Position Statements from The Church Health Center

Disability Ministries

Books

Devotions for a Healthier You By: Katie Farrell

Don’t Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart By: Kenneth Haugck

Elim Care FCN Suggested Readings By: Marcia Flom, RN

Faith Community Nursing By: Janet S. Hickman

Faith Community Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice By: The American Nurses Association

Foundations, Faith Community Nursing Curriculum Participant Manual 2014 By: ChurchHealthCenter

Gentle Rebel: The life and work of Granger Westberg By: Jane Westberg

Health Ministry Advice for Everyone By: Deborah Patterson

Parish Nursing: Stories of Service and Care  By: Verna Carson and Harold Koenig

Prayer in Nursing:  The Spirituality of Compassionate Caregiving By: Elizabeth O’Brien

Spiritual Leadership By: Henry Blackaby

Stronger Together: Starting a Health Team in Your Congregation By: Jill Westberg McNamara

The Parish Nurse By: Granger E. Westberg and Jill Westberg McNamara

Theses on Healing (and Cure) By: The Reverend Frederick W. Reklau

Why? Trusting God When You Don’t Understand By: Anne Graham Lotz

Publications

These publications are available from The Church Health Center Store as digital downloads.

Church Health Reader

Articles, interviews, and reviews

Congregational Health Promoter Training Leaders guide

Exploration and Implementation Packet

An introductory packet of 13 reproducible sheets explaining an FCN’s mission, role, and activities. Other topics include starting a ministry, utilizing available resources and addressing liability concerns. This is a digital resource to be downloaded and printed at your convenience. 

Website:   http://www.churchhealthcenter.org/liabilityinformation

2014 Visitation Guidelines for Faith Community Nurses for Transitional Care

This resource contains disease specific assessment guidelines geared towards faith community nurses with the aim to improve the quality of care provided by addressing risk factors and performing standardized assessment for each health concern. Assessments are provided for  Alzheimer’s disease, Asthma, Cancer, Diabetes, Congestive Heart Failure, Hypertension, Mental Health, Multiple Chronic Diseases, Parkinson’s Disease, Post Hospital Discharge, Post Operative Assessment, Spiritual Distress, and Stroke. In addition to the assessments, important resources, normal laboratory results, vaccinations and screenings have all been listed. Specialists in each field were consulted to verify all the information provided.

Website:   https://store.churchhealth.org/products/transitional-care

Healthful Hints:  Volume 1 and 2

Seasoned FCN and educator Helene Van Der Werff, answers commonly asked health questions in short informational paragraphs to be used in bulletins, on bulletin boards, and in newsletters. Available as a downloadable file. 

Journal of Christian Nursing

A peer-reviewed, quarterly, professional journal

Articles

We encourage you to submit prayer requests, share stories and offer resources by contacting FCN@elimcare.org anytime.

There are many ways to stay connected with other Faith Community Nurses.  A number of websites offer valuable information and the Church Health Center has a blog site where FCN’s throughout the world post questions, give insight, and offer a number of resources.

Elim Care FCN Ministry is committed to provide resources and information that can save you time and provide opportunities for you to network with others and have hands on assistance as needed.  Mary Martin, Elim’s Faith Community Nurse Director, sends regular updates through emails that offer encouragement, resources and stories to those who are interested in Faith Community Nursing.  We also host monthly Share and Prayer meetings where a number of FCN’s come together to pray with and for one another and share valuable resources and stories.  Occasionally CEU’s are offered.

Ways to stay connected with Elim Care FCN:

1) Monthly Share and Prayer Meetings

2) Weekly Updates

3) Monthly Connect

2017:

4) Communiques

Upcoming Faith Community Nursing Events

 Check back for future events!

Faith Community Nursing Courses

Faith Community Nurse Basic Preparation Courses

If you would like to begin a Faith Community Nursing program at your church, training is offered periodically.

 

ELIM Care’s Foundations for Faith Community Nursing

12 week Online Course
September 5th – November 21st,  2018 & January 16 – April 3, 2019

This course explores the specialty practice of Faith Community Nursing which combines professional nursing and health ministry, emphasizing health and healing within the faith community and the larger community. It offers registered nurses with a strong spiritual faith the knowledge to implement and facilitate a Faith Community Nursing ministry, as well as practical opportunity to apply learning from the course to the dynamic nature of their faith community and its particular needs. During this course  students need not be online at specific times. Assignments have due dates, and within the boundaries of assignment due dates you are free to complete them according to your schedule.  This course is derived from the curriculum endorsed by the Westberg Institute for Faith Community Nursing and is led by Shelly Rock, RN, MSN, FCN Coordinator and Westberg trained Educator.

40.5 CEU’s for Registered Nurses.          Course Cost is $300

To Learn More Go To: https://www.grow2serve.com/fcncourse

 Sanford Health Foundations Course

Click to View info on this course

Resources from Past Workshops:

2018 SUPER SUMMIT

-SPONSORED BY ELIM CARE

May 15, 2018

SPEAKER- Dr. Carla Dahl, Professor of Congregational and Community Care Leadership; and the George C. Weinman Chair of Pastoral Theology.

TOPIC- “How (Not) to Care: Lessons from Job and His Unhelpful Helpers.”

Held at Olson Campus Center at Luther Seminary 1490 Fulham St.  St. Paul, MN

Resources from 2016 Elim Care Spring Event, “Increasing Your Confidence as a Patient Advocate”

Resources from the Bioethics Conference, Human Life and Dignity in Today’s World

Resources from 2015 Spring Networking Event, “Caring for Yourself so you can Care for Others”

Resources from October