"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble" (1 Peter 3:8).

Reaching Out to the Faith Community

Maxine Blome is a retiree who refused to retire. After devoting nearly 45 years to the nursing profession and before retiring from her position as vice president for professional services at Adventist Health in 1994, she helped develop a legacy: the parish nurse program.

Parish nursing, or faith community nursing as it is now known, is a collaborative program between Adventist Health and churches of all faiths. The concept is simple: to help churches develop health ministry programs that focus attention on the physical, mental and spiritual needs of their community members.

"Faith community nursing is a type of nursing you do from a church," says Blome. "It's much like home health care, though with no hands-on or invasive care. When we go in the home, we care for the whole person — mind, body and spirit." For example, at her home church — Sunset Oaks in Rocklin, Calif. — Blome does follow-up visits when church members have surgery. She also helps connect people to local agencies and resources when needed.

Mind, Body and Spirit

"Faith community nursing is more, much more, than just screenings and health education though," says Teresa Nelson, RN, BSN, FCN, faith community nurse coordinator for Adventist Health and Sonora Regional Medical Center. "The essence of faith community nursing is emphasizing the spiritual component of whole person care in every community we serve."

Recognized by the American Nurses Association, faith community nursing is, "The specialized practice of professional nursing that focuses on the intentional care of the spirit as part of the process of promoting wholistic health and preventing or minimizing illness in a faith community."

But what does that mean? In some congregations, it means coordinating blood pressure clinics or teaching first aid at vacation Bible school. In others, it means visiting a church member after surgery, praying before a procedure or referring someone to a health care practitioner. For some churches, it also means partnering teenage moms with "grandmas" in their churches.

Faith community nursing also means performing any number of roles, including providing spiritual care, assessing congregational needs, facilitating support groups, training volunteers, health counseling, advocacy and education, all through the integration of faith and health. No matter what the role or activity, faith community nurses pay particular attention to the spirit.

Creative Beginnings Go Nationwide

Parish nursing began through the visionary work of Dr. Granger Westburg in the mid-1980s. Westburg was a pastor and chaplain in Chicago and found that pairing medicine with spiritual care — through the partnership of nurses, pastors and physicians—increased patient care while decreasing overall costs.

Influenced by the "wholistic" health movement of the 1970s, Westberg's philosophies echoed the importance of caring for body, mind and spirit. According to his book, The Parish Nurse: Providing a Minister of Health for Your Congregation, "The parish nurse understands health to be a dynamic process which embodies the spiritual, psychological, physical and social dimensions of the person. Spiritual health is central to well-being and influences a person's entire being."

And the concept influences health care as well. What started modestly with six nurses and six congregations has blossomed into a thriving program with thousands of nurses nationwide.

"The growth of this movement is rich ground for us as Seventh-day Adventists, and Granger Westberg's philosophies fit perfectly with what we're trying to accomplish," says Nelson. "It's a tremendous opportunity to take our health message to the community, to invite in other churches and create relationships with our community."

"Our Adventist Health mission is to provide physical, mental and spiritual healing," says Gloria Bancarz, RN, assistant vice president and chief nursing officer for Adventist Health. "Faith community nursing is a perfect way to exemplify our mission in the communities we serve.

Bringing Faith Community Nursing to a Church Near You

"Healing has got to be a top priority. As our hospitals strive for whole person care, so should our churches. Are we [churches] being ‘whole' in our outreach?" asks Nelson.

That's where Adventist Health can help.

"Adventist Health wants to work with churches and will conduct one-day seminars to develop church ministry teams, grounded in the principles of health ministry," says Nelson. "If churches would offer this seminar and develop health ministry teams, their communities would see that churches really do care about them."

"I feel so strongly about health evangelism," states Nelson. "People are so open to getting help with their health. And healing is such an opening wedge for the gospel. Christ said the sick will always be among us, and we have opportunity to minister healing at all levels, even before hospitalization becomes necessary."

There are many ways to implement a faith community nursing outreach program in a church congregation. And Adventist Health will assist in building a health outreach program to suit each unique church mission, including church start-up information, a resource manual, on-site training and ongoing consultation.