Running head: COMMUNITY HEALTH OUTREACH 1

Community Health Outreach: Methodist Church

Rebekah Troyer

April 25, 2020

Delaware Technical Community College

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Community Health Outreach: Methodist Church

For many people that go to a hospital there is not so much focus on the spiritual aspect of

care. All the focus is on the medical issues that brought the patient in. When doing my practicum

hours I shadowed a parish nurse. I have learned that they not only care for parishioners in their

church with any medical challenges but also with spiritual help. They help people by assisting

with any help that they would need with everyday things, but also do house calls and hospital

visits to pray and uplift in anyway they can. “Faith community nursing is a nursing practice

specialty that focuses on the intentional care of the spirit, the promotion of an integrative model

of health, and the prevention and minimization of illness within the context of a faith

community. Such practitioners consider the spiritual, physical, psychological, and social aspects

of an individual to create a sense of harmony with self, others, the environment, and a higher

power” (American Nurses Association and Health Ministry Association, n.d.).

The parish nurse outreach program at Avenue United Methodist church already do so

much for their parishioners. There are weekly pamphlets of different medical conditions in the

bulletin, monthly blood pressure checks before church, and nurses that offer their services and

resources. Though with the pandemic that is going on currently (COVID 19) there is more needs

from the elderly in the church. The three major things that I see as a need are help with everyday

errands/assistance, spiritual guidance and accessibility, and continual education on COVID and

how to stay healthy.

The first one is how we can continue helping them with running errands for them, taking

them to appointments, and helping around the house. One way that can be done is to have a list

of people and phone numbers that the parish nurse can have of those in the church that are

willing and able to go and help those in need. This list can then be used to distribute to those that
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need someone to go grocery shopping, pick up prescriptions, and do things around the house.

Another thing to do is make sure that the seniors in the church have access and numbers for the

Delaware Aging & Disability Resource Center. This agency provides help to seniors in everyday

tasks and helps them sign up for resources that they can use (1-800-223-9074). The website has a

great pamphlet that has information for seniors on receiving help during the COVID 19

pandemic (http://www.delawareadrc.com/_PDF/Delaware-Seniors-PSA.pdf). The PDF explains

the precautions people over 65+ should be taking and a number they can call (2-1-1) for

assistance with groceries, prescriptions, banking, and wellness checks (Delaware ADRC, n.d.).

There is also a PDF (http://www.cityofmilford.com/DocumentCenter/View/2396/Community-

Assistance-Resources-?bidId=) from the city of Milford De that has community resources (City

of Milford, n.d.).

Another thing that stands out is the ability to provide spiritual guidance for the elderly.

There may not be some that are able to watch the services online or have the ability to do it.

Church services and fellowship with fellow friends and parishioners are important for mental

health in times like this. Having programs for times like these is important. One thing that can be

done is to have the ability to have the parishioners call in and listen to the services. Also having

weekly pamphlets sent out for them to read over and prayer group calls weekly. These small

things can really help with the spiritual aspect in treating the whole person. “Health is a

condition of physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being” (United Methodist Social

Principles 162.V, n.d.). Ways to implement these would be to send out a sheet with the phone

numbers and times of the different services and times for prayer group calls. Having in place

people who would be able to lead the prayer groups and the names and numbers of those

available on that sheet of paper. This could be emailed out and sent by mail to the ones that do
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not have access. A way to see how well this is being used/how effective it is would be to monitor

the amount of people that are using it weekly and asking those that are using how they are

benefiting from it. This could all be collected and put into a spreadsheet and used to analyze.

Lastly, there needs to still be educational pieces going out to parishioners on diseases and

also education on COVID 19 which is a concern as of now. Having information on easy

exercises in the pamphlets to help with decreased activity from the quarantine should be included

too. Physical health can also help with mental health. The parish nurse would be able to continue

to make the weekly pamphlets for the bulletin but instead mail it out to parishioners and email it

out. Also make it available online (https://avenueumc.com/) on the website and church Facebook

page (https://www.facebook.com/avenueumc/). Have the nurse of the health ministry Cindy

Horsman 302-422-8111  healthministry@avenueumc.com information available for people to be

able to call and ask any questions that they have.

Having the ability to access these resources and see how effective they are can be a little

hard. One way that it can be done would be surveys to the parishioners to see if they used any

and how easy it was able to use them. This can always be done when church services are back in

the church and having a two or three questioner in the bulletin for people to fill out. Another way

would be to have a small survey on the website for people to take and suggest any improvements

that could be made.

Using a holistic approach to help the parishioners and the elderly in a time as this is

essential. Looking at the mind, body and spiritual health can lead to better outcomes. Moving

into effect these changes can help those that need additional help and uplift their spirits. The

health ministry at Avenue United Methodist Church has been doing everything they can to help

their parishioners during this time.

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References

About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.delawareadrc.com/AboutUs.aspx

Faith Community Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, 3rd Edition. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.nursingworld.org/nurses-books/faith-community-nursing-scope-and-standards-of-

practice-3rd-edition/

Health. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.umcjustice.org/what-we-care-about/health-and-

wholeness

Health Ministries. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://avenueumc.com/our-ministries/health-ministries/

Milford, DE - Official Website: Official Website. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.cityofmilford.com/