March 23, 2014: Trinity Wesleyan Church

Trinity Wesleyan Church is located in Eden, NC and provides the congregational home for the Hispanic Ministries service following the traditional Sunday Morning Services.  This church operates the Trinity Wesleyan Church’s Childcare Program that provides the largest daycare in Rockingham County as well.

The Cone Health Congregational Nurse Program provided a Health Screen and Counseling activity for the Hispanic members of Trinity Wesleyan Church this afternoon at 3pm.  Health screenings included blood pressure checks, blood sugar screenings, health counseling, and scheduled referrals as needed to the Free Clinic of Rockingham County and Rockingham County Health Department.  There were two minors (age 16 and 17) that attended the health screening event and they were referred to the health department for follow-up care since the Free Clinic services are limited to those people over age 18.

My role in this service learning experience:

During this Health Screening program, my role again included checking and recording blood pressures with documentation provided to the Congregational Health Nurse as she followed up with blood sugar screenings.  An interpreter was available to translate health counseling advice as needed for the participants.  I discovered that several of the people I checked had never received medical care in this country.  These people were immediately referred to the Free Clinic for routine physicals including mammography as needed for the female participants.  As I become more comfortable talking with these participants (with the interpreter) I am finding that I am more relaxed and therefore the participants share their anxiety over having their blood pressure checked by frowning and with gestures.  I found myself reassuring them with smiles and they responded quickly by returning my smiles. 

Sandra Rakestraw, the Certified Diabetes Educator, is an expert clinician and provides special reassurance and care as she provides the blood sugar screenings.  She is patient and kind with each individual and very meticulous with follow-up care (picture used with permission).

Congregational Health Nurse
and
Hispanic Medical Interpreter

Going forward:

Again, because Eden, NC is my home town, I would like to continue providing assistance with health care screenings and educational programs as needed for the Hispanic members of our community.  Next Sunday, I will assist with another screening program at St. Joseph of the Hills Catholic Church in Eden.  I plan to continue my Regis Service Learning activities with the Cone Health Congregational Nurse Program and feel privileged to serve people in my community.   

To be continued…

March 2, 2014: Hampton Heights Baptist Church

March 2, 2014:  Hampton Heights Baptist Church

The Cone Health Congregational Nurse Program provided a Health Screening and Counseling for the Hispanic members of Hampton Heights Baptist Church located in Eden, NC.  Hampton Heights was formed in 1962 and grew from 51 charter members to become a thriving church ministering to the Eden region and beyond with outreach programs and various other ministries.

The Health Screening and Counseling activity followed the noon Hispanic Service and included blood pressure checks, blood sugar screenings, health counseling advice, and scheduled referrals to the Free Clinic of Rockingham County.  It is the mission of the Free Clinic to “recognize the right of low income, uninsured citizens of Rockingham County to have access to health care that compassionately meets their basic medical, dental and pharmacy needs”   Free Clinic of Rockingham County

Hampton Heights Baptist Church
Eden, NC



My role in this service learning experience:

During this Health Screening program, my role included checking and recording blood pressures with documentation provided to the Congregational Health Nurse as she followed up with blood sugar screenings.  Sandra Rakestraw is a Certified Diabetes Educator as well as a Congregational Health Nurse.  She gave each participant counseling (with an interpreter as needed) on healthy food choices, follow-up referrals as needed, and encouragement with individual health care needs.

Future Opportunities:

Because Eden, NC is my home town, I have many opportunities to continue providing assistance with health care screenings and educational programs as needed for the Hispanic members of our community.  My plans include assisting Sandra as she schedules additional activities in a number of churches in our county with Hispanic members in need of health screenings and counseling. 

On to Trinity Wesleyan Church…

February 23, 2014: St. Mary's Catholic Church

St. Mary’s Catholic Church - Health Screening

Today I had the opportunity to assist with a Health Screening activity at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Greensboro, NC.  St. Mary’s dates back to 1870 when Mass was celebrated periodically in the homes of the pioneering people.  As the parish grew, a building was constructed to serve the residents of Greensboro and initially became known as St. Benedict’s Catholic Church.

The number of black converts in the community grew and in 1928 St. Mary’s Parish was born to serve the black residents of southeast Greensboro.  In the 1970’s St. Mary’s continued to evolve as refugees from Asia and Africa began to join the parish.  Currently one-third of St. Mary’s parishioners are African American, one-third are white, and one-third are immigrants from Asia or Africa.

The Cone Health Congregational Nurse Program implemented a Health Screening and Counseling activity following the 12 noon Mass.  As we provided health screening services for this church, interpreters were on hand to assist the Vietnamese members of the Parish. 

 

 

My role in this service learning experience:

Since this was my first participation with the Congregational Nurse Program activities, my role included assisting the Vietnamese interpreters as they completed the required paperwork for the health screenings.  In addition, I had the opportunity to watch and listen as the Congregational Health Nurses provided blood pressure checks, blood sugar screenings, height/weight recordings, and general health advice to the parishioners.  Program wrap-up included organizing materials for the next health screening and making sure all of the health documentation was distributed to the correct nurses.  This event lasted approximately three hours and I felt privileged to be a voluntary member of this great team!

Next event scheduled in Eden, NC.

February 22, 2014

Today, I’d like to share more information regarding my Service Learning project with the Congregational Health Nursing program in Greensboro, NC

Why I’m interested in working with the Congregational Health Nursing program:

Working with the Faith Community has been a passion of mine since the inception of the Congregational Health Nursing program that was implemented in my community (Rockingham County) many years ago.  I have several nursing colleagues that function as both full-time and part-time employees of local churches.  As we discussed their mission, I have been impressed with their commitment to provide services to the community based on the intentional care of the spirit in addition to physical and emotional needs.  The NC Department of Commerce ranks my county as one of the 40 most distressed counties in the state based on economic well-being, labeling us as a Tier 1 county.  Social determinants such as unemployment rates, poverty rates, and teen pregnancy rates squarely place this county in a “vulnerable population” status.  Our citizens need help – and as a volunteer with the Congregational Nursing program I am privileged to give back to my community in a way that blesses me more than I could imagine!

While visiting with the assistant coordinator for the Cone Health Congregational Nurse Program, I had the opportunity to take pictures of some of their tools of the trade – including bears for the children’s Teddy Bear Ministry, newsletters and informational flyers.

 

My role with the Congregational Health Nursing Program:

This service learning experience will allow me to assist Congregational Health Nurses as they provide health screenings for local churches and participate in an upcoming Faith Action International House training program scheduled for April 22.  The Faith Action International House training focuses on the history of immigration in the US, understanding our immigrant neighbors, and outreach to immigrant communities.  I am so excited to have the opportunity to participant in these future events.

To be continued…

 

February 21, 2014

Hello Everyone,

Today I talked with Sandra Blaha, Assistant Coordinator (picture attached with permission) for the Cone Health Congregational Nurse Program.  We had a wonderful planning session to schedule my visits to assist the congregational nurses with various activities.  Originally, we planned to work together to implement an assessment project for measuring depression in the elderly.  This plan fell apart due to a lack of funding – it will be considered again at a later date.

Sandra Blaha, MSN, RN

Assistant Coordinator, Cone Health Congregational Nurse Program

I’d like to tell you a little about the Cone Congregational Health Nursing program.

Service Learning Site:

The Cone Health Congregational Nurse program is located in Greensboro, NC.  This program is based from Cone Health who is responsible for assisting community congregations with developing and implementing a Health Ministry Program Congregational Health Nursing

Faith community nursing is the specialized practice of professional nursing that focuses on the intentional care of the spirit assisting patients to maintain and/or regain wholeness in body, mind, and spirit.  The Cone Congregational Health Nurses are licensed, registered nurses who practice holistic health using nursing knowledge combined with spiritual care.

The faith community nurses function in paid and unpaid positions as members of the pastoral team in a variety of religious faiths, and cultures.  Their practice is governed by the North Carolina Nurse Practice Act, the Faith Community Nursing Scope and Standards and the Nursing Code of Ethics.  The goal of the Faith Community Nurse is the:

• Protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities
• Prevention of illness and injury
• Responding to suffering in the context of values, beliefs and practices of a faith community such as a church, synagogue, temple, or mosque (Cone Health Congregational Health Nursing).

The Cone Health Congregational Nurse Program began in 1998 and decided to call itself the “congregational” to be inclusive of the Jewish and Muslim communities in Greensboro, NC.  The program is marketed to the faith community by various methods (mailings, focus groups, referrals, presentations).  The Congregational Health Nurse is an independent contractor with the church, not a Cone Health employee.  Congregational Nurses are expected to provide personal counseling, health screenings, health promotion activities, educational programs (4/yr), advocacy, and facilitation of care giving within the congregation.
 

The Cone Health Congregational Health Nursing program formed a partnership with the Guilford County Department of Public Health to promote wellness within the community. 

Clients Served by the Congregational Health Nursing Program:

• Uninsured working
• Poor and/or homeless
• Immigrants
• Elderly on fixed income
• Members of congregations participating in the health ministry program

Needs Provided by the Congregational Health Nursing Program:   

• Assessing health needs for the faith community
• Providing screening clinics
• Making home, hospital or nursing home visits
• Referring parishioners to appropriate health or social services agencies
• Offering educational programs to address specific congregational needs
• Coordinating with volunteers for supportive ministries

Agency Funding Support:

The Congregational Nurse Program is a nursing practice established as a collaborative relationship between Cone Health and the area’s faith community.  This program was established in 1998 with grants from the Cone Health Foundation.   Cone Health continues to provide on-going financial support with grant funding and community donations.

More to come…