Education, Events & News
Upcoming Events to Share With Faith Communities
June 19 - Suicide & Drugs, How Can We Help?
Save the Date!
The Central MN Faith Community Nurse’s annual workshop. The objective is Suicide Awareness and Prevention in the Youth Population: Engaging the Faith Community, & learning about a community collaborative model of drug prevention and ways faith communities can support recovery.
Registration: 8-8:30 a.m.; Program 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Target Audience: FCNs, Clergy, Deacons, Pastoral Ministers & Assistants, Youth Ministers, Chaplains, Befrienders, Friends in Faith, faith community staff and members in ministry, Teachers; Knights of Columbus and other church organization members, and others.
Speakers:
- Suicide Awareness and Prevention in the Youth Population: Engaging the Faith Community — Barbara Skodie-Mack, MS, LMFT, LPCC, RPT-S, Integrated Behavioral Health, CentraCare Health Pediatric Clinic
- QPR: Question, Persuade, Respond — Steve Hansberry, Wellness in the Woods
- Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS): Learn about evidence-based suicide risk assessment tool — Kelly Wurdelman, DNP, MSN, RN, Educator, Behavioral Health Services, CentraCare Health St. Cloud Hospital
- Collaborative Community Approach to Mental Health and Addiction - How St. Cloud is Interrupting "Business as Usual" — Kathy Kirchner, MPH, BSN, PHN, Director, Coordinator & Correctional Care Population Health Leadership Team, CentraCare Health
- What Can the Faith Community Do About Addiction? — Rev. Dr. Ed Treat, Senior Pastor, Transfiguration Lutheran Church, Bloomington.
For additional information: Download program brochure (PDF)
Related Article: Stearns Jail Partnership With CentraCare See Promising Results — St. Cloud Times, Dec. 31, 2018
Related Newstory: Mothers Who’ve Lost Sons To Opioid Epidemic Band Together In Support — WCCO-TV, March 18, 2019
Oct 20 — Mass For HealthCare Professionals
Save the Date!
Mass For HealthCare Professionals
Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019 — 10:30 a.m.
Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Joseph
News
Integrators of faith and health. Ten women commissioned as new faith community nurses.
Congratulations to 10 Registered Nurses who were commissioned as new faith community nurses at a ceremony Nov. 9, 2018 at Grace United Methodist Church in St. Cloud after completing the Foundations of Faith Community Nursing class.
Faith community nursing is a specialized area of professional nursing recognized by the American Nurses Association for RNs. These nursing professionals, who have taken on additional learning to be leaders and ministers in their faith communities, are known as integrators of faith and health. All participants received a scholarship for our second class this year from a PRIDE Grant from the CC Foundation. Sixteen RNs have completed the class this year.
Read more: Integrators of Faith and Health — Central Minnesota Catholic Magazine, November 2018
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The class members pictured are:
Back Row: Jennifer Michalson, Motley Free Methodist, Motley; Susan Newkirk, Motley Free Methodist, Motley; Angie Moscho, St. Boniface, Cold Spring; Katie Theisen, St. Cloud; Deb Haagenson, Hubbard United Methodist Church, Hubbard; Marnie Czech, Holy Trinity, Royalton
Front Row: Joyce Simones, Educator for class; Leslie Ender, Duluth; Bridget Huber, St. Marcus, Clear Lake; Janelle Maciej, St. Stanislaus, Bowlus; Amanda Noaeill, Immanuel Lutheran, Princeton; Carol Engelhart, Educator
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Faith Community Nurse Commissioning — April 2018
Six new Faith Community Nurses were
commissioned on Friday, April 20, 2018.
Class members included: Back row - (left
to right) Joyce Uselman, Julie Kouba,
Missey Pedersen; Front row - (left to right)
Lora Lee, Rona Bleess, Peggy Gracula.
Six new Faith Community Nurses were commissioned on Friday, April 20, 2018, by Grace United Methodist Church Pastor, Diana Dunham. The Faith Community Nurse Partnership received a CentraCare Foundation Grant to bring classes to St. Cloud.
Learn more about our fellow FCNs:
- Joyce Uselman is the FCN at St. Ann’s Church in Wadena and her pastor is so happy to welcome her ministry (as are all the pastors of those who are now in FCN Ministry in their churches) and will be mentored by another active FCN in St. Hubert’s in Bluegrass.
- Julie Kouba is a FCN at St. Francis Church is Sartell (now 1 of 4 there) and is helping us create Heart Failure information for FCNs in Churches with Christy and Dona from the SCH Heart Failure project in a new collaboration. Julie recently accepted a nursing position in Clinical Cardiology at CentraCare and will be mentored by three FCN’s at her church and other Sartell area FCNs.
- Missey Pedersen will use the Whole person care in her work as a nurse at St. Cloud Hospital as a float RN and in her church, Living Waters in Sartell, joining another FCN.
- Lora Lee is waiting to join a church and now helps our group with health fairs, and projects.
- Rona Bleess is the FCN at Trinity Lutheran in Long Prairie and is retiring from her career at CentraCare there.
- Peggy Gracula is FCN at Our Lady of Seven Dolor’s in Evansville and the four church cluster there and will be mentored by other FCN’s in the Alexandria area.
Education Opportunities
Faith Community Nurse Foundation Classes (Required)
Foundations of Faith Community Nursing Curriculum
Across the United States, 140 locations/universities/agencies provide the basic education required for a Parish Nurse/Faith Community Nurse.
Find a Faith Community Nursing Foundation's course by date, state or online.
In Minnesota, there are two organizations that provide the basic program:
- Concordia College of Moorhead – Visit website for more information.
- Faith Community Nurse Network of the Greater Twin Cities (FCNNTC) offers the International Parish Nurse Resource Center (IPNRC) certified course in a 42.4 CEU format taught by professional nursing faculty who are both educators and experienced faith community nurses representing an array of faith community nursing practice. For more information or questions about the Faith Community Nursing Course, please contact FCNN at 651-204-0904 or contact@fcnntc.org. To register, download a brochure and to learn more, please visit www.fcnntc.org/education/foundations-course/.
Continuing Education: Required Ongoing Education
Parish Nurses are required to meet the Minnesota Board of Nursing criteria for continuing education which is 24 hours every two years. These continuing education programs may include both clinical nursing as well as courses that enhance the parish nurse role.
- MN Board of Nursing contact hours (formerly referred to as Continuing Education Units or CEUs) are based on 60 minutes of learning. Last at least 0.25 contact hours (15 minutes). Continuing Education. Overview (CE Rules & Requirements) from MN Department of Nursing Continuing Ed Link: MN Board of Nursing CE Rules. Learn more at
http://mn.gov/boards/nursing/licensure/continuing-ed/
- Parish Nurses in the Diocese of Saint Cloud are required to complete the Diocesan Safe Environment Training and report the training to the parish office.
Scholarship Opportunities
- The St. Cloud School of Nursing Alumni Association.
The Alumni group budgets money each year for Parish Nurse Scholarships. Among the purposes in our Constitution and Bylaws are the objectives to promote fellowship and mutual support among the graduates of our (now-closed) School of Nursing and to provide continuing education opportunities to our alumni. Please call Elaine Prom, Treasurer, if you have any questions 320-253-7363.
- The Central MN Parish Nurse Advisory Committee is offering $250 scholarships for persons intending to work as parish nurses in Central Minnesota. Conditions of the scholarships include:
- The parish nurse role will be activated within 6-9 months of course completion.
- In a brief letter (one page or less), please address how the above criteria will be met in your parish nurse ministry.
- Reside in Central Minnesota or have approval from the Central Minnesota Parish Nurse Ministry Committee Officers.
Contact Annette Jesh for a scholarship guidelines and application questions 320-249-0280. Download the scholarship application (PDF)
- Scholarships from Faith Community Nurse Network (FCNN) of the Twin Cities. FCNN is committed to increasing the number of faith community nurses practicing in the metro area. FCNN will award a limited number of $150 scholarships to Registered Nurses who live in the 11-county Twin Cities area (Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Washington, or Wright County).
For consideration, the nurse must submit an initial $300 payment along with a letter of support from her congregation’s leadership (i.e. pastor, rabbi, church council) documenting (1) the congregation’s intent to initiate a faith community nursing program and their support of this nurse’s candidacy and (2) a statement of financial need. The nurse will be notified if a scholarship will be awarded within two weeks of receipt of all required materials. Learn more at http://www.fcnntc.org.
