Two new coordinators named for nurse ministry

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
September 11, 2003

Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City has established a Center for Parish Nursing and Health Ministries.

"It is a collaborative effort of Mercy Medical Center, Briar Cliff University and the Diocese of Sioux City," noted Kay Morrissey, director of adult and family ministries for the diocese. "It is ecumenical and is open to parish nurses or persons involved in health ministry from any denomination."

With the establishment of the center, Mercy has supported the hiring of two new parish nurse/health minister coordinators - Marilyn West and Kathy Johnson.

These two women are available to take calls and inquiries ranging from people interested in asking questions about what is parish nursing as they think about how they might get it started in their parish or cluster to suggestions on how to expand an existing ministry.

This summer the women have been in contact with 71 church congregations of various denominations to spread the word about the ministry.

Another function of the two coordinators is lining up quarterly luncheon meetings that can be attended by people who are in this ministry or interested in more information.

"Those who attend the meeting don't have to be involved in an actual program," Johnson said. "They can just be checking it out to see what it involves and what other people are doing. It is a great way to network."

The next meeting is scheduled for noon on Friday, Sept. 19 in Mercy's Leiter Room. There is no cost to attend, but those who plan to attend should make a reservation by Sept. 15; call (712) 279-2995.

Each meeting features a guest speaker.

"This month there will be a speaker from the Alpha Center," said Johnson.

She pointed out that the Dec. 5 meeting will feature a speaker from Hospice, addressing grief during the holiday season.

Johnson stressed that they are open to receiving calls about the ministry.

"We are available as a resource," Johnson said. "If they need certain information or have questions, we are available. We also have a resource guide for parish nursing, which is like a manual that people can purchase."

The manual contains information on what parish nursing is, the philosophy, ideas to set up a parish nurse ministry, ways to communicate what the ministry entails to parish leaders and so forth.

The diocese's part in this collaborative effort is to communicate with the parishes

"We do have nurses in parishes who say they would like a better opportunity to connect their profession with their faith life, so they may choose to be involved in parish nursing," noted Morrissey.

The parish nurse ministry can take a variety of forms such as serving as educators where they help organize a health fair, take blood pressures or host a blood pressure clinic on a monthly or weekly basis or they may serve as a community resource person where they can direct fellow parishioners in the right direction for services.

Morrissey is aware of several parish nurses in the diocese. The Office of Adult and Family Ministries began promoting this ministry about five years ago.

"It is an emerging ministry," she said. "It has been much more prevalent in Lutheran congregations, but as we look at the evolving reality of life in parishes or clusters, this is one way that people can respond to their baptismal call - to use their professional giftedness for the benefit of the parish community."

For more information about this health ministry, contact West at (712) 274-4344 or Johnson at (712) 274-4339. Persons may also contact Morrissey at the Central Catholic Offices at (712) 233-7532, as she has several resource materials on hand.