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Health ministry fosters wellness of mind, body and spirit |
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Written by LAURIE STEVENS, Chronicle Writer
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Thursday, 03 April 2008 |
FOSTORIA—Medical and spiritual care are virtually inseparable to Kathy Holman, who oversees the health ministry at Fostoria St. Wendelin.
“It’s a holistic health ministry, which means we address the mind, body and spirit,” says Mrs. Holman, a registered nurse with specialized training to serve as a faith community nurse.
Her ministry at the parish started nearly a decade ago through a unique partnership between St. Wendelin and Fostoria Community Hospital.
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Deacon Kishore Kottana of Fostoria St. Wendelin sprinkles holy water as
he blesses the prayer shawl wrapped around the shoulders of parishioner
Eleanor Wenzke. (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens)
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The hospital employs Mrs. Holman part time and she works from an office located at St. Wendelin Church.
Laura Ritzler, a parishioner and a nurse who directs ProMedica Total Wellness at Fostoria Community Hospital, says faith communities have the ability to reach people the health community may not.
“There’s a lot of trust,” she explains. “It’s ideally an association they have throughout their lifespan.”
Mrs. Holman counsels individuals coping with struggles ranging from chronic illness to the loss of a loved one, and visits nursing homes and about a half a dozen private homes each week. Sometimes a student nurse or a deacon accompanies her.
Clients do not have to be Catholic, though many she visits are elderly St. Wendelin parishioners.
“It’s a good way to let them know that the church hasn’t forgotten about them,” says Mrs. Holman.
In March she and Deacon Kishore Kottana visited Jose and Lucy Hernandez, elderly parishioners of St. Wendelin.
The couple looks forward to walking down the street to church again once warm weather arrives, but they have primarily stayed inside this winter to avoid slipping on the snow and ice.
“We haven’t been to church since all this weather hit,” Mrs. Hernandez laments.
Mrs. Holman checks their blood pressure and chats with them about their health, but talk soon shifts to news from the parish and matters of faith.
At the end of the visit, Deacon Kottana distributes holy Communion.
“It’s nice to do that faith sharing,” says Mrs. Holman. “We address physical needs, but the key part is their spiritual well-being, because it all ties together.”
After leaving the Hernandez home, she and Deacon Kottana stop to see Eleanor Wenzke, an elderly parishioner who recently came home from the hospital.
On such visits, Mrs. Holman answers questions about medication and ensures individuals are coping sufficiently with cooking and housekeeping. If they are homebound, she can arrange to have the Eucharist brought to them on Sundays.
Mrs. Holman also presents Mrs. Wenzke with a snuggly “prayer shawl” to wrap around her shoulders, which Deacon Kottana then blesses.
“Oh, isn’t that nice,” Mrs. Wenzke beams, fingering the loose weave of the yarn. “This is nice and warm.”
Eleven parishioners at St. Wendelin recently began knitting and crocheting the shawls for those facing difficult times.
“We take this prayer shawl as a visible sign that the parish cares about them and is thinking about them,” explains Mrs. Holman.
Parish nursing caught on in northwest Ohio soon after the Rev. Granger Westberg, a Lutheran minister and hospital chaplain, founded the movement in Illinois in 1984.
“He could see the connection where the church was the natural offshoot for hospitalized patients needing more follow-up when they get home,” Mrs. Holman explains.
She observed a similar need for that support during her years working in home health care as a nurse.
She eventually learned about faith community nursing and worked with Ms. Ritzler to bring it to St. Wendelin.
With the support of parish priests Father Daniel Ring and Father Kent Kaufman, the hospital partnered with St. Wendelin to create the first such ministry in Fostoria in 1999. Ms. Ritzler says they initially chose St. Wendelin because it was the largest congregation in town, claiming about a third of the population.
Health ministry has rapidly expanded in Fostoria since then.
Faith community nurses now volunteer in 18 area congregations, and they collaborate to offer programming and resources to the community through the Fostoria Area Health Ministry.
St. Wendelin hosts blood pressure and health screenings, sponsors a divorced and separated support group and refers individuals to community resources and agencies. A bereavement support group is forming this spring.
The parish is part of the Congregational Nurse Project of Northwest Ohio, a coalition of more than 180 faith communities with health ministries including a number of Catholic parishes.
More information on the Northwest Ohio Congregational Nurse Project is available at www.cnpnwo.org.
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