Gwinnett Medical Center parish nurse Linda Bailey (right) takes Helen Culbreth’s blood pressure reading at First United Methodist Church of Duluth.
A critical care nurse for 25 years, Linda Hughes, RN, discovered a different role when both her parents became critically ill. She was determined to see that they got the best care possible at home.
"I discovered that the oncologist's office didn't do a good job of letting people know about all the help that was available. I had to ask a lot of questions," Hughes said. "I realized that if it was this difficult for a nurse to manage, how much harder it would be for someone not familiar with the health care system."
Soon after that, Hughes read about the Congregational Ministry for Health and Wellness at Gwinnett Hospital System, which had established a parish nurse program in 1994. In her church bulletin, she discovered that her congregation was looking for a parish nurse. "I felt like God was trying to tell me something, and when I took the job, I felt very much like I was coming home," Hughes said.
Hughes worked as a congregational nurse at Alpharetta First Methodist Church for about five years, before moving into the nurse educator role for Gwinnett's congregational ministry. The ministry serves 10 local congregations and their communities.
This summer, she'll be teaching nurses who are considering the role at a congregational nurse preparation course, from July 9 to 14. Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University and Gwinnett Hospital System Congregational Ministry for Health and Wellness are co-sponsoring the course.
Few people understand the role of congregational nurses, but when it's explained to them, everyone wants one, Hughes said.
She explains the role with an example. If a 41-year-old working mother is diagnosed with breast cancer and has surgery, she'll most likely have chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Her husband will become the sole breadwinner, creating a drop in income. She'll be tired, ill, depressed, but still have a household to run.
"Her doctor will treat her cancer, and her minister will pray with her. But the parish nurse would take care of all the other practical things that need to be done - things like organizing meals, someone to pick up the kids from school and transportation to chemo," Hughes said.
These nurses use their knowledge of the system to find information, support groups and other resources.
"A parish nurse is a navigator who will mobilize the resources available," Hughes said. "She's part nurse, part case manager, part social worker, and treats the whole person who has spiritual, emotional, social and physical needs. Having someone to walk with a family through a crisis can make all the difference."
Gwinnett's congregational ministry is a paid model of parish nursing. Churches and the Gwinnett Hospital System form a partnership to support the nurses with salaries and benefits. As hospital employees, parish nurses have access to the facility's Intranet, medical library and other resources. They serve as members of their church's ministerial team, enhancing the health of the congregation and the community through education, counseling and resource utilization.
"Whenever a church gets a call that they don't know what to do with, they call the parish nurse. Nurses are born problem-solvers," Hughes said. "All come from different specialties, but, as a parish nurse, they have to become generalists. "My job is to see that their clinical skills and medical information stay current."
In fiscal 2004 (the latest data available) Gwinnett's congregational nurses made 13,257 health-counseling contacts and 4,445 referrals to doctors, hospitals and 193 health care agencies. They facilitated 324 educational classes - such as diabetes awareness, healthy cooking and living with arthritis for their communities - and recruited and organized health ministry volunteers whose programs served more than 1,078 participants.
They also served 3,654 members of support groups, including grief, nutrition and cancer.
Although Gwinnett's congregational ministry nurses help their congregations as volunteers.
"We would love to know how many volunteers are serving in this way in Georgia, because we could provide them with resources and continuing education," Hughes said. The summer preparation course is aimed at nurses who would like to begin health ministries or become parish nurses.
Curriculum from the International Parish Nurse Resource Center will include the biblical and historical foundations for parish nursing, functions of the role, standards of practice and practical applications for various health issues.
"It's a retreat as much as a course, and there will be time for self-re- flection, worship and bonding with other nurses," Hughes said. The $800 fee covers course materials, meals and private rooms at Timber Ridge Conference Center in Mableton.
To register, call Shirley Rawlins at 770-949-0217 or Linda Hughes at 678-442-2423.
Parish nurses (paid or volunteer) who would like to be part of a Southeast database to learn about resources can contact Hughes at lghughes@ghsnet.org.