Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institutes of Health
By Suzanne Hoholik
The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday September 21, 2011 3:53 AM
As health-care costs continue to skyrocket, federal officials are looking for ways to improve patient care and lower expenses.
Yesterday, they invited leaders from 16 hospital systems, including OhioHealth, to the White House to discuss how working with faith-based groups can do both.
At the event, hospital executives, doctors and others discussed programs that work in their communities.
For example, OhioHealth has been working with 43 local congregations for 20 years. Each congregation has a volunteer nurse who works with the hospital system.
OhioHealth provides them with training and educational materials on issues including diabetes, nutrition, interacting with doctors and living with chronic diseases.
The nurses share this information with people in their congregations.
“They volunteer their professional time to be part of the congregation’s health ministry,” said Lea Blackburn, system director of community partnership at OhioHealth.
OhioHealth was the only Ohio hospital system invited to the meeting.
The inspiration for the White House meeting is a program at Methodist LeBonheur Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., which involves almost 400 congregations.
The partnership, created about five years ago, trains volunteer liaisons from each congregation to provide support to patients.
“A person is assigned to them from the church to make sure they understand what their doctor is saying and that they get the next steps of care,” said Mara Vanderslice Kelly, acting director of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
She said the program has saved the Memphis hospital $4 million, reduced mortality by 50 percent and cut hospital readmissions by 20 percent. Federal officials said they hoped yesterday’s meeting will get other hospitals to include similar programs.
“These are partnerships to increase access to care and build a better integration of care and be able to reduce the overall cost of care,” said the Rev. Keith Vesper, vice president of mission and ministry at OhioHealth.
shoholik@dispatch.com
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Seeking Volunteer RN's for Cherry Street Mission Nursing Clinic
Location: Cherry Street Mission, Cherry Street, Toledo, OH
Seeking RN's to Volunteer for 5-6 hours per week.
Orientation and Support Available
You would not be working alone.
Cherry Street is a great [place to be-- the staff is awesome and very helpful. This mission is very progressive, and has some great programs to rehabilitate the homeless. If you interest we would be glad to have them come to an orientation to Cherry Street Mission.
Contact Martha Pituch at 419-882-0371, preferably in evening
Seeking RN's to Volunteer for 5-6 hours per week.
Orientation and Support Available
You would not be working alone.
Cherry Street is a great [place to be-- the staff is awesome and very helpful. This mission is very progressive, and has some great programs to rehabilitate the homeless. If you interest we would be glad to have them come to an orientation to Cherry Street Mission.
Contact Martha Pituch at 419-882-0371, preferably in evening
Diabetes Support Groups (Day and Evening)
Day Group,
Date: 3rd Wednesday of the month
Tim3: 9:30-11:30 am,
Location: Heatherdowns Library, 3285 Glanzman Ave., Toledo
Evening Group,
Date: 3rd Tuesday of the month,
Time: 6:30-8:15 pm, Sanger Library, 3030 Central Ave., Toledo
Fee: Free
Contact: Lynn Godfrey, BSN, RN, CDE, Certified Diabetic Educator, 419-383-4395.
Open to all with diabetes, their families, friends & others.
Date: 3rd Wednesday of the month
Tim3: 9:30-11:30 am,
Location: Heatherdowns Library, 3285 Glanzman Ave., Toledo
Evening Group,
Date: 3rd Tuesday of the month,
Time: 6:30-8:15 pm, Sanger Library, 3030 Central Ave., Toledo
Fee: Free
Contact: Lynn Godfrey, BSN, RN, CDE, Certified Diabetic Educator, 419-383-4395.
Open to all with diabetes, their families, friends & others.
White House Blog - Walking in Health with Parish Nurses.
Across the country, parish nurses are helping congregations walk in health towards a more active lifestyle. Parish nurses, or Faith Community Nurses, are health experts who work within specific congregations to provide the tools, resources, and support necessary to make healthy decisions and stay active. In their capacity as health counselors, advocates, educators, and providers of spiritual care, they are on the frontlines of congregational health, working with church members to address healing of the body, mind and spirit.
Poised to guide parishioners toward more physical activity, parish nurses have responded to the First Lady’s Let’s Move! challenge to walk 3 million miles as part of her initiative to reverse the trend of childhood obesity within a generation. Parish nurses are leading energized, creative community walking programs across the country. The Rev. Dr. Deborah Patterson, Executive Director of the International Parish Nurse Resource Center says, “When a parish nurse is leading a walking program, the average number of miles walked per congregation increases dramatically!”
“All it takes is a little bit of organization to get people excited about physical activity” noted Rebekah Seymour, parish nurse of First Baptist Church in Nederland, Texas. Rebekah, with the help of a team of volunteers, planned and carried out a church-wide walking program called “Walk Across Texas” with Texas-sized success. After constructing a giant map of Texas on which individuals, groups, and families could track their weekly progress and offering prizes for those who crossed the state first, the community of First Baptist walked over 225,000 miles. Not only did the walking adventure encourage physical activity, it nurtured community and inspired congregants to get up, get moving and adopt healthy habits that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
At Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Brentwood, Missouri, parish nurse Nancy Merila with her congregation conducted a virtual “Walk to Bethlehem.” Miles were counted, with the use of inexpensive pedometers, by using 15 to 30 minute increments. Participants marked their miles on a big world map pinned to the community wall and Merila enhanced the experience by stamping passports for the countries the congregation virtually “walked” through each week and provided a travelogue of educational facts and images about each country. She added inspirational prayer cards and bible verses to encourage reflection and inspiration during daily walks as, she notes, “It’s impossible to address health issues without taking a holistic approach. If people aren’t physically, emotionally and spiritually engaged, they will never make lasting changes in their lives.”
These are only a few of the many examples of parish nurses guiding congregations in the healthy practices that will support the community they serve in becoming a place of health and well-being. “People like taking part in physical activity, but often times they don’t know where to start. By making walking programs fun and educationally and spiritually fulfilling, we can really provide a sustainable solution to the problem of obesity,” says Nancy Merila.
Read more about the great activities faith-based and neighborhood organizations are leading across the country to get people moving. To learn more about the Let’s Move Faith and Communities initiative or share your success story, email us at partnerships@hhs.govor call (202) 358-3595.
Heidi Christensen is the Associate Director for Community Engagement at the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Poised to guide parishioners toward more physical activity, parish nurses have responded to the First Lady’s Let’s Move! challenge to walk 3 million miles as part of her initiative to reverse the trend of childhood obesity within a generation. Parish nurses are leading energized, creative community walking programs across the country. The Rev. Dr. Deborah Patterson, Executive Director of the International Parish Nurse Resource Center says, “When a parish nurse is leading a walking program, the average number of miles walked per congregation increases dramatically!”
“All it takes is a little bit of organization to get people excited about physical activity” noted Rebekah Seymour, parish nurse of First Baptist Church in Nederland, Texas. Rebekah, with the help of a team of volunteers, planned and carried out a church-wide walking program called “Walk Across Texas” with Texas-sized success. After constructing a giant map of Texas on which individuals, groups, and families could track their weekly progress and offering prizes for those who crossed the state first, the community of First Baptist walked over 225,000 miles. Not only did the walking adventure encourage physical activity, it nurtured community and inspired congregants to get up, get moving and adopt healthy habits that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
At Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Brentwood, Missouri, parish nurse Nancy Merila with her congregation conducted a virtual “Walk to Bethlehem.” Miles were counted, with the use of inexpensive pedometers, by using 15 to 30 minute increments. Participants marked their miles on a big world map pinned to the community wall and Merila enhanced the experience by stamping passports for the countries the congregation virtually “walked” through each week and provided a travelogue of educational facts and images about each country. She added inspirational prayer cards and bible verses to encourage reflection and inspiration during daily walks as, she notes, “It’s impossible to address health issues without taking a holistic approach. If people aren’t physically, emotionally and spiritually engaged, they will never make lasting changes in their lives.”
These are only a few of the many examples of parish nurses guiding congregations in the healthy practices that will support the community they serve in becoming a place of health and well-being. “People like taking part in physical activity, but often times they don’t know where to start. By making walking programs fun and educationally and spiritually fulfilling, we can really provide a sustainable solution to the problem of obesity,” says Nancy Merila.
Read more about the great activities faith-based and neighborhood organizations are leading across the country to get people moving. To learn more about the Let’s Move Faith and Communities initiative or share your success story, email us at partnerships@hhs.govor call (202) 358-3595.
Heidi Christensen is the Associate Director for Community Engagement at the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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