Health Ministries Heads Home!

by | Jan 11, 2021 | News

Submitted by Susan Johnson, RN-BC, MPH
Hoag Health Ministries

Faith Nurses ready to serve the community!

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian was one of the first institutions in the country to provide Parish Nursing services to the community.   Established in 1987 under Pastoral Care, the program was moved to Community Medicine around 2000.

As times change, so do names & needs. Faith Community Nursing is the now more inclusive name for Parish Nursing as partnerships have gone beyond churches, and programs now include mosques, synagogues, schools, homeless shelters & even jail ministries in some locales.  Hoag’s Health Ministries program welcomes all faith traditions.

Student Nurses ready to help Faith Nurses in preventing the Flu!

Given the shared mission of providing Spiritual care to our patients and constituents, Hoag leadership, including the Association of Presbyterian Members, recommended Health Ministries’ return to its original home within Pastoral Care.  Rejoining Pastoral Care in Oct 2020 continues being an exciting time for the staff and volunteer Faith Community Nurses throughout Hoag’s network of nurses.  We understand each other’s languages of presence, active listening & prayer. While hospital chaplains provide care to the Hoag patients, the FCNs are the bridge to those in need in the community.

The daunting work continues in 2021 as churches remain in various stages of re-opening, as the destruction caused by the Covid 19 virus continues to rob people of their health, livelihood and in some cases, their lives.  Let the Faith Community Nurses help you in your work as clergy leaders.  The FCNs utilize their nursing, public health and spirituality training in caring for church members – mind, body and spirit.  For more information Google: Hoag Health Ministries.

For more information about Hoag Health Ministries, please explore the following resources:

[email protected] or contact us at 949-764-6594.