What is a Parish Nurse?

A Parish Nurse is a Registered Nurse who offers his or her skills and expertise to care for members of a parish or faith community.  They combine their faith and their healing skills to promote wellness within the community they serve.  By working with the other ministries of St. Paul’s Daphne, we live into the mission of following Jesus’s example to care for the body, the mind, and the soul.

The Parish Nurse provides support to patients faced with difficult health issues, serves as a liaison between patients and members of the health care team, and facilitates clinics, health screenings and support groups.  They also serve as a resource, health educator, and patient advocate for members of the parish.   The Parish Nurse can be a source of referrals to health services in the community.  

The Parish Nurse can also provide health counseling related to a variety of health and wellness topics as well as make parishioner visits to assist with health needs.  He or she can communicate with a parishioner’s health care team, if desire, to meet the needs of the parish member.   The Parish Nurse can assist with interpreting medical information during a procedure or a hospital stay as well as at doctors’ appointments. 

The relationship between a parishioner and the Parish Nurse is confidential excepting in the circumstances of child or elderly abuse or potential harm to self or others.  

If you have health questions, concerns, need referral information, or just someone to talk to about a health related issue, please feel free to call.

If you would like to volunteer to be a member of the Parish Nurse team, please contact me.