Harr, program coordinator and parish nurse educator at WVU, says the profession appeals to people interested in providing holistic care, not just crisis management. It's ideal for West Virginia, where she says some 280,000 people are without health insurance, where many people live far from a hospital or doctor's office, and where more than 15 percent of the population is already over 65. There are some requirements, though. Parish nurses must be registered nurses with at least two years of experience. The nurse has to have some references attesting to her spiritual maturity.'' Harr and Drenning will offer a two-part training session in May and August.
Parish nurses can be volunteers or paid, depending on what a church can afford.
But they are expected to stand on equal footing with the clergy. She is to be seen as a health minister along with the other ministers,'' Harr says. The parish nurse helps form a health committee with volunteers from the church, arranging programs and screenings to meet the congregation's needs. Salaries can be paid by the church, with the help of a local health-care provider or through grants the nurses must obtain themselves. Drenning began as a volunteer in 1990, but the demands of a 1,000-member congregation quickly became too great.