Wyoming Health Ministry Summit

Building the Foundation for Faith/Health Connection

Inside this issue:

Basic Preparation Course 2

Community Benefit Grant 3

Shalom Corner 3

Wyoming Honor Flight 4

Healthful Hint #63 5

Women Together For Health 5

Health Ministry Association 6

Wyoming to Westberg 6

Quality of Life 7

Fall Retreat 8

T he Wyoming Health Ministry Summit provided a forum to

mortar faith and health together with the goal to educate clergy, faith lead-ers, health professionals and lay min-isters on health ministry. The one-day event was held April 30, 2001 at the Little America Hotel & Resort, in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Highlights from Summit:

Over 60 participants from Wyo-ming and surrounding areas at-tended.

The Director of Symposium & Resources from the International Parish Nurse Resource Center, Mary Slutz, RN, BS, MHCA, was the keynote speaker. She ad-dressed the history of health ministry, the development of Faith Community Nursing and the future of faith and healthcare.

Cheyenne author Dorothy Lan-sing spoke about her life experi-ences and prayers that evolved into a book, Living Waters: Writings from the Heart of a Christian.

Eight breakout sessions were of-fered and provided a variety of tools for developing and enhanc-ing health ministry.

SUMMER 2011 ~ NEWSLETTER

An Interfaith Panel discussed the importance of health across several faith traditions bringing humor, insight and understand-ing to their represented faiths. The panelists included: The Reverend David Stratton (moderator) Baptist; The Rev-erend Patrick Bradley, Roman Catholic; Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman, Judaism; Mohamed Salih, Islam; and The Reverend Dana Lightsey, Unitarian Uni-versalist.

A Faith Community/Parish Nurse dinner-reception was held the evening prior to the summit and was an opportunity

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center employees Tracy Brosius, Community Grants

Program Manager displayed information from the Charity & Discount Care

Program and Marlyn Beck exhibited information from Behavior Health Services.

to connect with fellow FCNs and hear from the IPNRC and the Health Ministries Associa-tion (HMA) representatives.

Page 2

BODY , MIND, SPIRIT

L-R, Back Row: Rev. Carol Peterson, Rev. Robin Chance, Mysha

Mattimoe, Dianna Johnston, Laura Mallet, Judy Laursen, Susan Hurd,

Tina Jessen, Becki Gibson, Kathy Perea. L-R, Front Row: Joan Brennan,

Sue Tardif, Sherry Lavalais, Flossie Vance, Sue Ro, Ria Brownlow, Chris-

tine Jester, Terry Wilson, Elizabeth Wenke, Marylou Colvin, Joy Meyer

Not pictured: Judith Soderlind and Peggy Hearne

Basic Preparation Course 2011

T he Basic Preparation Couse to become a Faith Community Nurse took place

from January to April 2011. Registered nures from Cheyenne WY, Riverton WY, Cody WY, Montana, Idaho and California met online for 14 weeks using a web-based program to listen to faculty and view slide show presentations.

The then class met in-person on Friday, April 29 for an all-day retreat at St. Chris-topher‟s Episcopal Church in Cheyenne, WY. This provided an opportunity for the RNs to meet face-to-face and finish the cur-riculum with modules on Prayer, Self-Care and Healing and Wholeness.

This 33.4 continuing education course pro-vided the future FCNs with tools for begin-ning their health ministry in their faith com-munities. Topics such as documentation, legal issues, collaboration, communication and community resources were taught by faculty instructors The Reverend Carol Pe-terson MS, RN, FCN and Flossie Vance MS, FNPC, RN, FCN.

A Service of Dedication for the FCNs was held at the conclusion of the Wyoming Health Ministry Summit on April 30. Fami-lies of the nurses were invited. As each nurse was called forward she received a pin from the course instructors and The Reverend Robin Chance provided a blessing of hands. The Reverend David Stratton provided the homily on “The Meaning of Life.”

Wyoming now has over 40 FCNs serving across the state to provide health education, health promotion and disease prevention within their faith communities. FCNs prac-tice intentional care of the spirit for a wholistic approach to healthcare. The next Basic Preparation Course is planned for 2012. For more information about the course contact Amanda Hubbard at: 307-632-3640 or ahubbard@wyhc.org.

Nurses in-class for the web-based Basic Preparation Course at

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center computer lab .

“Learning about „shalom‟ as a

synonym for „peace‟ and being

encouraged to use it was

exciting. Nurses tend to fix things

but this exercise really stressed

„presence‟ and listening skills.

Little or no words, (can) provide

„God driven‟ moments.” Reflection from a course participant

Page 3

SUMMER 2011 ~ NEWSLETTER

Shalom Corner: Mindfulness

T he Wyoming Health Council has received a Community Benefit Grant from Cheyenne Re-

gional Medical Center to continue with Year 2 objec-tives for the Wyoming Faith Community and Parish Nurse program.

During the second year of funding, the program will:

Conduct another Basic Preparation Course to train additional Faith Community Nurses (2012),

Implement a data collection process to track trends among the FCN health ministry practices and to assess blood pressure rates and education within their faith communities,

Provide leadership training through a fall retreat, and continuing education sessions, and send two FCNs to attend the annual Westberg Symposium in St. Louis, Missouri.

CRMC has adopted the World Health Organization‟s definition of health: “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the ab-sence of disease or infirmity.” This understanding of health is entwined with the purpose of Faith Commu-nity Nursing and health ministry to achieve healing and wholeness through body, mind and spirit in any faith community.

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center

provides Year 2 Community Benefit Grant

I t‟s hard to believe, but it is already mid-summer. The celebration of July 4th seems to remind us that

we are halfway through the warm weather we have in Wyoming, and that all the plans we‟ve had for this summer may not, yet, have been fulfilled.

Instead of getting anxious, this is a good time to re-prioritize our “to do” lists… to cut down on some of the summer “busyness” and to be mindful of a more wholistic approach to enjoying our warm months. Are we being intentional about restoring our spiritual

“wells?” Are we making time to be quiet in the beautiful outdoors of our wonderful state? To go for walks and hikes, listening to the birds, the wind, the water? To still our souls so that we are re-created by the loving Source of our own being?

Whether or not we have the luxury to camp out, or hike up in the mountains, an hour of peaceful reflec-tion in your back yard, or on your front porch, can be invigorating and renewing to both mind and spir-it. Let‟s re-define our “to do” lists for the summer months, and put Spirituality at the top.

Submitted by: The Reverend Robin Chance

St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church

Cheyenne, WY

After successfully completing our first grant year through training and educating faith leaders and health professionals, providing a support network to the existing FCNs and increasing awareness statewide, the FC/PN program has gained much insight and believes this model can be replicated with other com-munity hospitals across the state.

To learn more about of the contributions made by CRMC Community Benefit Grants watch the video posted on their website at: www.crmcwy.org. Click on “Community Benefits” to see Chief Executive Officer John Lucas, MD, explain the many community con-tributions.

FCN Soars with Wyoming Vet on Honor Flight

World War II Veteran Nathan Replogle Jr. posing

in front of the World War II Memorial.

Page 4

BODY , MIND, SPIRIT

Opening Ceremony at the Taco Johns Event Center,

Cheyenne, WY. Pictured L-R: a ROTC member, WWII

Veteran Nathan Replogle Jr., JennaRae Jester

(Christine’s daughter), Christine Jester RN, FCN.

I n April of 2011, the Wyoming Honor Flight took World War II veterans to

Washington D.C., to see the WWII Memorial. It was my privilege to be selected to serve as a volunteer to assist the traveling veterans. I was assigned to veteran Nathan Replogle, Jr. born 1924. He served from 1944 to 1946 in the United States Navy, aboard the USS CVE-99. It was my joy to serve him by pushing his wheelchair and carrying his oxygen, thus he was able to be appreciated and thanked for his sacri-fice and service during the war.

During the two-day trip there were many activi-ties for the veterans to attend spending the main amount of time at the WWII Memorial. This allowed the veterans to remember and share about their experiences dur-ing their time in service.

As Nathan and I went around the WWII Memorial, I got to listen to his war story and the stories of other veterans as they talked about the war that spanned seven

continents, both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and estab-lished the USA as a world power. More than 400,000 Americans died in WWII and 16 million served in the US Armed Forces.

Senator Enzi and Senator Barasso greeted the Wyoming Honor Flight veterans at the WWII Memorial

and spoke with them while partaking in the memorial ceremony.

It was so impressive to watch how children and strangers would come to the WWII veterans to say “thank you” and listen to the veterans‟ stories and memories.

Getting to be a part of the Wyoming Honor Flight 2011 will be one of the best memories in my life. While I can read all about WWII in books or online, participating on this two-day trip I was allowed a more personal connec-tion with those who served for our freedom.

Submitted by: Christine Jester RN, FCN,

North Christian Church

Cheyenne, WY

healthful

“I was allowed a more

personal connection with

those who served for our

freedom.”

Christine Jester RN, FCN

Page 5

SUMMER 2011 ~ NEWSLETTER

healthful

Hints

# 63 - Humor is Good Medicine

P arish nurses Flossie Vance and Mo-na Coler, partnered with the Mater-

nal and Family Health section of the Wy-oming Department of Health to offer an education class “Women Together for Health” for the Cheyenne Catholic Com-munity in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

With the educational materials and incen-tives supplied, the parish nurses could tailor the ma-terials to meet the needs of our parishioners and teach the 8 to 10 week class. The class content was developed by The Office of Nutrition Services, Mar-icopa County Department of Public Health. All the classes were divided into half nutritional information and half exercise instructions. Both are equally im-portant for achieving and maintaining a healthy life-style.

For our first class series we had a total of ten parish-ioners. We felt this would help us better evaluate the

Women Together for Health Program

program, the participants, their input, feedback and participation. Developing the class format and tailoring it to our parishioners‟ needs was done on an ongo-ing, continual basis.

The ages of participants ranged from 20 years to 65+ years. This group was very participatory and their input was invalua-ble. They learned a lot about nutritional factors and exercises that proved to be

fairly easy to complete and repeat by all attendees. Those that had to miss a class on occasion were ea-ger to get the material they missed. They would ar-range to come to the next class early to go over the material they missed with us before the regular class.

From an instructor‟s perspective and the participant‟s evaluation feedback, the class had been a successful experience. Participants felt that they had learned some new health practices. We are looking forward to our next class in the fall. Note: This program was also implemented in Jackson, WY by parish nurse Natalie Stewart.

Submitted by: Flossie Vance MS, FNPC,

RN, FCN, St. Mary’s Cathedral Church

Cheyenne, WY

R esearch shows that humor is good medicine and can keep you in good health. Because of the positive effects of humor, it is suggested that we try to incorporate Vitamin “H” (Humor)

into our daily lives.

Just as we diet to take weight off our bodies, we also need a special diet to take the weight off our minds. Learn what makes you laugh so you can get a daily dose of humor and laughter.

It is a known fact that we can make ourselves sick by stress and neg-ative emotions. There is scientific evidence that positive emotions such as faith, hope, love, laughter and festivity can help combat seri-ous disease.

Humor and laughter embrace positive feelings and emotions which balance the negative feelings that surface during stressful times. Humor is a vehicle that carries us through our pain, losses, disappointments and cruel-ties. Kidding around about our losses is a way of gaining power over them. Humor is the most powerful and untapped resource in our battle against life‟s blows.

Taken from “Healthful Hints Vol. 2

Page 6

BODY , MIND, SPIRIT

T he Health Ministries Association held its se-cond National Summit “Mobilizing Health

Ministry for the 21st Century” at the Techy Towers Conference and Retreat Center in Chicago, Illinois to continue its work in developing the specialty of Faith Community Nursing and building health min-istries across the nation.

Amanda Hubbard, project assistant for the Wyo-ming Faith Community and Parish Nurse program, attended the summit to gather resources to build upon Wyoming‟s FCN and Health Ministry founda-tion.

Speakers at the summit included Granger Westberg‟s daughter, Jill Westberg McNamara, who spoke about Granger‟s passion and vision for Parish Nurs-ing; Vinny DeMarco, president of the Maryland Cit-izens‟ Health Initiative, who spoke on how faith communities can unite for change for public health issues such as children obesity and increasing tobacco tax; and The Rev. Dr. Kirsten Peachy, director of Congregational Health Partnerships for Advocate

Health Ministry Association Summit

Health Care, who spoke about the how faith com-munities have the opportunity to be a catalyst for health.

The HMA provided guidelines for building a curric-ulum for training Lay Health Ministers. This initia-tive will help to lighten the load of the FCNs and further build the Health Ministry team/committee within faith communities. A copy of the guidelines is available from the WY FC/PN office.

As a result of attending the HMA summit the Wyo-ming program will partner with the HMA to be-come a Regional Network to strengthen the impact of People of Faith Working Together for Healthier Communities.

For more information about the HMA and member-ship opportunities visit their website at: www.hmassoc.org

Wyoming to Westberg Scholarships Awarded

W e would like to congratulate Becky Deibert and Rozella Rice, recipients of the

„Wyoming to Westberg‟ scholarship. They each sub-mitted an application detailing why attending the symposium would benefit their health ministry pro-gram and a letter of support from their clergy to at-tend the 25th Annual Westberg Parish Nurse Sym-posium “Celebrating Our Past, Present, & Future” hosted by the International Parish Nurse Resource Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Each of these women demonstrated leadership with-in their faith communities and plan to share their experience from the symposium with fellow FCNs.

Becky Deibert is the Parish Nurse Coordinator at St. Paul‟s Newman Center, University Catholic Com-

munity in Laramie, Wyoming and is a 2007 gradu-ate of the Basic Preparation Course.

Rozella Rice is the Parish Nurse at St. Paul‟s Luther-an Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming and is a 2008 graduate of the Basic Preparation Course.

For more information about the International Parish Nurse Resource Center and the Westberg Symposi-um visit their website at: www.parishnurses.org.

Page 7

FCN Reflections:

Quality of Life, Wellbeing & Spirituality

BODY , MIND, SPIRIT

O ur country seems to be gradually moving from a medical-care system focusing on disease and

illness to more of a health-care system focusing on wellness and prevention. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states “Although the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health very broadly a half-century ago, health in the United States has traditionally been measured narrowly and from a deficit perspective, often using measures of morbidity and mortality. But health is … a multidi-mensional construct that includes physical, mental, and social domains.”

For some years now the CDC has been implementing a Quality of Life initiative. “As medical and public health advances have led to cures and better treatments of existing diseases and delayed mortality, it was log-ical that those who measure health outcomes would begin to assess the population‟s health, not only on the basis of saving lives, but also in terms of improv-ing the quality of them.”

Healthy People 2000, 2010 and 2020 all identified improvement of quality of life as an important pub-lic health goal. In recent years, CDC has developed and validated the Healthy Days measures. These measures indicate that:

Americans say they feel unhealthy about 6 days a month.

Approximately 1/3 of Americans say they suffer from mental or emotional problems every month.

Younger adults suffered the most mental health distress.

Older adults suffered the most poor physical health and activity limitation.

Data addressing these indicators collected from Wy-oming residents show that, since 1993, we report more physically unhealthy days and more days with activity limitations over time.

A related concept to quality of life is wellbeing, which attempts to assess the positive aspects of a person‟s life such as life satisfaction. Since 2007, CDC has been attempting to identify and measure key concepts of wellbeing examining things like housing and employment. However, CDC goes on to say “these indicators fail to measure what people think and feel about their lives, such as the quality of

their relationships and their positive emotions.” It is en-couraging that CDC recog-nizes existing measures are not entirely adequate: “Aspects of culture, values,

and spirituality are also key aspects of overall quality of life that adds to the complexity of the measure.” However, I believe the CDC is missing the mark when they do not then actually go on to assess fac-tors related to spirituality.

Over the past three decades there has been a signifi-cant body of evidence, from other sources, indicating that people who pray, meditate, and attend church on a regular basis are healthier, live longer and over-all are more satisfied with their lives than folks who don‟t do these things. While CDC has given a “nod” of recognition to the role of spirituality, they seem to have a long way to go before “spiritual” health is deemed valuable enough to actually attempt to meas-ure.

I believe we are spiritual beings in physical bodies and that we can not truly help people to become “whole” until we put spiritual health on the same level as physical, mental and social health. Faith Community/Parish Nurses understand this. That is why the work you all do is cutting edge and so very important! God Bless you for all that you do.

Submitted by: The Rev. Carol E. Peterson, MS, RN, FCN

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

Cheyenne, WY

“I believe we are spiritual beings

in physical bodies…”

The Rev. Carol E. Peterson, MS, RN, FCN

Advisory Council Members:

Tracy Brosius, Community Grants Program Manager, CRMC, Cheyenne, WY

The Reverend Robin Chance, St. Chris-topher‟s Episcopal Church, Cheyenne, WY

Debra Hamilton, RN, MSN, CLC, Clinical Development Specialist, CRMC, Cheyenne, WY

Amanda Hubbard, Project Assistant, Wyoming Health Council, Cheyenne, WY

Dr. Robert Kanard, Retired Internist, Cheyenne, WY

Ruth Manley, RN, FCN, Christian Mission-ary & Alliance Church, Cody, WY

The Reverend Carol Peterson, MS, RN, FCN, St. Mark‟s Episcopal Church, Cheyenne, WY

The Reverend David Stratton, Davis Hospice Center Chaplain, Cheyenne, WY

Sue Tardif, RN, Hospice & Palliative Care Manager, Davis Hospice Center, Cheyenne, WY

Flossie Vance, FNPC, RN, FCN, St. Mary‟s Roman Catholic Church, Cheyenne, WY

Lucy Williamson, Executive Director, Wyoming Health Council, Cheyenne, WY

SUMMER 2011 ~ NEWSLETTER

BODY, MIND, SPIRT

Body, Mind, & Spirit Is a periodic newsletter provided for Wyoming Faith Community Nurses and those inter-ested in health ministry provided by the Wyoming Health Council as a vehicle to promote networking and as a mechanism to facilitate the sharing of information and resources among faith community nurses and interested partners. The articles and opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily representative of those of the Wyoming Health Council, its Board of Directors, or its affiliates.

Mark your

calendars!

Faith Community & Parish Nursing

Wyoming Health Council

416 West 24th Street

Cheyenne, WY 82001

Tel: 307.632.3640

Fax: 307.632.3611

Visit our website at: www.wyhc.org

Like us on Facebook!

Fall Faith Community Nurse Retreat

Spiritual Gardening: Cultivating Health & Wholeness

Saturday, September 24, 2011

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

9:30am-3:30pm

Casper, WY

Call or email the office for the registration, agenda

and lodging information.

307-632-3640 ~ ahubbard@wyhc.org

Hope you will join us!

Sponsors and Affiliates: