NC Missions of Mercy: May 30 and May 31, 2014

The North Carolina Missions of Mercy (NCMOM) portable free dental program is an outreach program of the North Carolina Dental Society.  NCMOM is a grassroots effort, dependent on volunteers, with funding from grants and donations. 

Currently, NCMOM has enough equipment to set up a 80 chair full dental clinic including digital x-ray, sterilization, and all instrumentation and supplies.  The volunteers include dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, laboratory technicians and scores of professional and general volunteers across the state.  Since its founding in 2003, the program has provided more than $19 million dollars in free dental care to over 45,000 Carolinians.  Please take a look at the NCMOM website at  http://www.ncmom.info .

I participated in the NC Missions of Mercy outreach dental program on May 30 and May 31, 2014.  This activity was in collaboration with my service learning hours with the Cone Health System Congregational Health Ministry Program. 

I arrived at the campus of Rockingham Community College at 5:30 am on Friday and Saturday mornings to find hundreds of people lined up and wrapped around the gymnasium.  Many of these people spent the night in the parking lot in cars and in sleeping bags on the RCC campus.

My role included pre-assessment checks including a health questionnaire and blood pressure monitoring prior to sending the clients for dental x-rays.  A team of volunteer physicians located in our assessment rooms examined those clients with elevated blood pressures and/or blood sugars.

This was such a humbling event and I truly appreciate the opportunity to work with this exceptional team of nurses, physicians, dentists, administrators, allied health workers, and volunteers to provide these services to a grateful population of indigent clients in our county.  A total of 630 patients were seen and almost $350,000 was given in care!

One young man (somewhere in his 20s) told me he “started walking from Reidsville, NC at 3 am to get in line for the dental services” arriving at 5:30 am!

(A total of 14 well-spent service hours for this event)

NR725B Service Learning: May 2014 - Congregational Health Nursing

May 2014

My Service Learning activities for NR725B Application to Practice course continues this semester with the Cone Congregational Health Nursing program that provides health care services and resources for my home community in North Carolina.   I am working with the Nursing Coordinators to provide health screenings for vulnerable populations in my county including older adults from indigent populations in the Cone Health service regions.

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.  As a review from last semester, I’d like to tell you a little about the Cone Congregational Health Nursing program as follows:

Service Learning Site:
The Cone Health Congregational Nurse program is located in Greensboro, NC.  This program in based from Cone Health who is responsible for assisting community congregations with developing and implementing a Health Ministry Program  http://www.conehealth.com/community/congregational-nurse-program/ .

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.  The North Carolina nurse practice act, Faith Community Nursing scope and standards and the nursing Code of Ethics govern their practice.  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 the program “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.

Clients:

Clients served by the Congregational Health Nurses include the following:

Uninsured, working, poor, 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.