A Day in the Life of a Parish Nurse

Here we are – the Parish Nurses Blogging!!!!!

This is the first time either of us has ever blogged but it has been suggested to that we need to enter the new millineum.  Not knowing what we had to do or even really knowing what a blog was, it was thought we could start with “A day in the life of a Parish Nurse”.

We, Parish Nurses, may be in the office or out working in the community.  Part of the office duties include answering phone calls re: health issues, attending to the prayer chain, ensuring the chain is up to date and used as a reference to follow the progress of the sick.  We follow through on the meals ministry and ensure contact with the volunteers providing the meals and the recipients of the meal ministry, whether it is at times of illness, surgery, trauma or birth of a new babe.   Another very important issue, required by law is that the parish nurse, who is also a Registered Nurse,  is obliged to chart on the people she is involved with in her PN role.  After office time, the Parish Nurse will visit people in hospital, in their homes, in nursing homes and even the carpark at Tim Horton’s!

We are a bridge between the medical community and the parish community.  We serve the whole person- body, mind and spirit.

We are here to advocate for you, to act as a referral source, counsel and to pray with you.  If available, we will accompany you to Doctors appointments and if unable to do so, we will try to find a volunteer to go with you.  We will bring you a prayer shawl which has been knit or crocheted by a member of the Parish Knitting group so you can wrap it around yourself and know that your fellow parishioners are praying for and supporting you in you time of need. We are also here to educate and hopefully this “blogging business” will be a “good tool”.  We are even learning all of the new lingo. Aren’t you proud of us?

 “The church is in a much better position than medicine to carry out a ministry of wellness,
because it has direct and frequent access to the lives of people.”    (Thomas Droege, The Healing Presence)

A.E.D. (Artificial External Defibrillator)

An A.E.D. (Artificial External Defibrillator) has been donated by a parishioner to St. Philip Neri Parish. An A.E.D. is used to treat victims of sudden cardiac arrest, who are not responsive and not breathing properly.  The defibrillator delivers a shock to the heart and can be used with CPR, as needed, until emergency professionals arrive.

The A.E.D. can be found in a red case displayed in the Welcome Area.

After all Masses on March 8/9, the parish nurses will show a 15 minute DVD in the Sun Room. This DVD explains what an A.E.D. machine is and how and when to use it. This is not a training session but is an attempt to familiarize parishioners with the A.E.D. Research has shown that a child of 10 years old can use an A.E.D. if needed. If you are interested in learning more about the A.E.D. we would encourage you to please take this opportunity to view the DVD or contact the parish nurses (306-343-0325) to arrange to view the DVD at a later date.