Partnership Helped Bring Parish Nursing Ministry to Oklahoma in late 1990s
 

By Eileen Dugan
For the Sooner Catholic  

There are many misconceptions about parish nursing. People think parish nursing originated in the Catholic Church, but it actually started in the Lutheran Church, in Chicago, in 1984. The concept was the brainchild of Lutheran minister, Granger Westberg. A chaplain working in a hospital in Chicago, Westberg was well aware of the need for the churches to reclaim their healing ministry.

In the Middle Ages, hospitals had originated in the Church. At first, the sick had been cared for in convents and abbeys. Gradually, hospitals were established and were operated by  priests and nuns. The spiritual aspect was an important part of the treatment, as was loving care. Westberg desired to reclaim this heritage. He felt that using nurses in faith communities could best bring this about.

Disease prevention and health promotion are the focus of parish nursing. But, parish nurses work primarily with the spiritual dimension of healing.

Parish nursing came to the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City in 1997 through the efforts of Catholic Charities, St. Anthony’s Hospital, and St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. St. Patrick’s got involved because it is adjacent to Villa Isenbart and Trinity Gardens, two low-income, independent-living facilities for senior citizens. St. Pat’s felt that if they could bring parish nurses to their campus, the nurses could help out at Villa and Trinity.

Tim O’Connor, Executive Director of Catholic Charities, had heard about parish nursing. At the time, Mary Diane Steltenkamp, a nurse in dialysis and transplantation, was on the Board of Catholic Charities. O’Connor asked her to become part of a working committee to draw up plans to bring parish nursing to the area.

The committee worked on the issue for more than a year. Cecilia Amend, Director of Parish Social Ministry at Catholic Charities, chaired the committee. They came together and formed the program, and Steltenkamp was hired to run it.

Steltenkamp spent a week training at the Basic Preparation Parish Nurse Institute in St. Louis, Missouri, in January 1998. She came back and within two years, Catholic Charities and Oklahoma City University’s Kramer School of Nursing had brought the program to Oklahoma.

Then, instruction was under the auspices of OCU. Beginning in 1999, one-week programs were the rule. Since that time, 6-7 such programs have been provided. Some training, like that given at Mount St. Mary High School, is over three weekends for those who work full-time.

Now, the only endorsed parish nurse training in the state of Oklahoma falls under Catholic Charities. The program was transferred from OCU because Dr. Andy West retired. West was dean of nursing at OCU and the coordinator of the training. When West retired, Catholic Charities wanted the training to continue, as did OCU. So Kramer School of Nursing transferred the program to Catholic Charities.

The most recent parish nurse training took place last July. Held at Our Lady of the Lake Retreat House in Guthrie July 25-31, the class was the first, totally under the umbrella of Catholic Charities.