ANATOMY OF A PARISH NURSING PROGRAM

Parish nursing makes all the sense in the world to Karen Mustoe and plenty of other nurses in the area. It gives them a chance to mesh both their professional and spiritual lives.

Parish nursing is a holistic approach to healing that lets nurses use their caring nature to offer advice, consultation and education for their church congregations.

Parish nursing is not "hands-on" nursing, but it appeals to nurses who want to use their professional skills in their spiritual life.

"You see that it's a ministry of the church," Mustoe said. She is a former parish nurse for St. Charles Borremeo and St. Joseph Health Center, both in St. Charles. Now she is minister of discipleship and pastoral care at Centenary United Methodist Church. Parish nursing gives nurses access to patients and lets them do what they enjoy most, Mustoe said.

It is a growing program in Southeast Missouri.

Mustoe was a paid parish nurse for four years in St. Charles. She likes the way parish nursing acknowledges that a person's health and faith are linked. "You can't always separate the spiritual from the arthritis pain in your back," she said. "Seeing people at church on Sunday and the doctor on Tuesday aren't that different."

"The mission of the church is healing," she said. Over the years, churches have moved away from that, but parish nursing brings it all together. "We are dealing with the whole person," she said. "We can reclaim the healing ministries and the practical difficulties of illness."

Mustoe began her parish nursing career in a joint venture of a Catholic church and hospital. People in the congregation knew she was coming as parish nurse and had been educated about what the program does, she said.

The church had realized that when a person is in distress either physically or spiritually, other aspects of their life are affected, Mustoe said. "It's all connected."

But it still took some time to get the program going. She started with monthly blood pressure screenings at the church, which were held between worship services each Sunday morning. Then she moved on to follow-up phone calls after a member had been in the hospital. Eventually she was presenting programs on aging gracefully, helping parents discuss sex education with their teen-agers and offering programs on parenting for new mothers and fathers.

Much of the program was preventative care, with classes on diet and nutrition, men's and women's health issues and such. She even began some support groups for people dealing with grief.

But parish nursing can start much smaller, said Jeri Palmer, coordinator of a program at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

It doesn't have to be elaborate. It can be just an hour a month spent putting up a health bulletin board or making phone calls to the sick, Palmer said.

Many nurses fear getting involved in parish nursing because they think it will consume their time, but the plan can be tailored to a specific congregation.

Barbara DeRossett, a member of Christ Church in the Heartland, has been studying parish nursing programs for nearly three years. She's writing a master's thesis on the subject.

Parish nursing "isn't limited to one time or one kind of environment," she said. "Every parish nursing program should be unique" and suit the needs of the congregation.

She has been slowly working up to a possible parish nursing program at her church. She offers health tips for use in weekly bulletin and is planning first aid and safety courses for ushers and children's workers.

Because people are more educated about their health and more motivated to seek information, Mustoe said. But they don't always know where to turn.

Parish nurses can help be that resource.

Nurses have an automatic level of trust given to them by patients, Mustoe said. Because they seem more approachable, parish nurses often can help bring attention to a problem or offer comfort to a family in the church.

The real strength of the program is that it relates wellness and pastoral care. Many people continue to fall through the cracks of health care, but parish nursing offers access to those people, Mustoe said.

Palmer agreed. "I already know how to be a nurse, but parish nursing gives me a chance to share my faith and make the spiritual connection."