Do you want to find out how members of a church can provide a nurturing atmosphere for healing of the whole person? Are you looking for ways to impact the health of your congregation? If so, consider adding a Parish Nurse to your pastoral team who can complement the holistic work of your faith community.

Trinity’s Parish Nurse Program is available to churches and faith communities for discussion on how to implement a Parish Nurse Program into their faith tradition. In addition, the program is also seeking registered nurses who would like to serve a faith community as a Parish Nurse. The goal of the Parish Nurse Program is to strengthen the church’s healing ministry by promoting wellness in body, mind and spirit.
 

Churches that wish to provide a Parish Nurse Program for their parishioners can choose either a paid or volunteer Parish Nurse position. Through the Trinity Health Foundation, churches that wish to provide a paid position may qualify for a grant which pays 60 percent of the Parish Nurse’s salary the first year and 30 percent the second year.
 

Nurses who want to become Parish Nurses must either complete Trinity's 36-hour orientation course or other approved Parish Nurse Basic Prep class. Following completion of the orientation course, they are then appointed and assigned to their church or other church needing Parish Nurse services.
 

Currently, Trinity’s Parish Nurse Program includes 43 churches in the Iowa and Illinois Quad-Cities and surrounding region, and represents 16 denominations. Parish Nurses function as health educators and personal health counselors for members of the congregation. They coordinate volunteers, facilitate support groups and make referrals to community agencies. 

For more information on Parish Nurses, or to arrange for an informational program on the benefits of the Parish Nurse Program, call Linda Guebert at (309) 779-5122 or e-mail her at guebertl@ihs.org.