Wesley nurses work to improve health of whole person

64 UM congregations
offer programs to aid
well-being of body, soul

By Claudia M. Williams
Staff Writer
Florence Nightingale described the original vision of nursing as looking beyond treating disease to treating the whole person.
“The needs of the spirit are as critical to health as those individual organs which make up the body,” she said.
In 64 United Methodist congregations across Southwest Texas, Wesley nurses provide a ministry that stresses the importance of spirituality in the well-being of the whole person.
What Shirley Johnson, Wesley nurse at First UMC, Sinton, did recently is a prime example.
“Undeniably,” she wrote in a recent church newsletter, “one small way we can deal with life’s burdens is to stay connected with our power source, our divine savior, physician and redeemer, Jesus Christ.…
“It is very interesting to me that new research is demonstrating that people who meditate or pray actually change their brain chemistry in a way that promotes more health and well-being, lowers blood pressure, and helps to enhance the quality and length of life.”
Johnson included a seven-point “parish nurse’s prayer prescription,” which improves believers’ ability to “set our burdens at the cross and leave them there.”
Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas administers the Wesley Nurse Program in cooperation with the Southwest Texas and Rio Grande conferences.
“Wesley nurses understand the value of spirituality in the makeup of the human being,” said Miriam Perez, nursing programs director for the San Antonio-based healthcare organization.
Knowing that the health and spiritual needs of their communities are linked, “churches are vigilant” about the needs of the people, Perez said.
“We get calls and letters requesting nurses, but we can only provide so many,” she said. “It’s difficult to choose. Wesley nurses go where they can do the most good.
Their outreach is ecumenical, Perez said. Although offices are in United Methodist churches, the nurses’ services are available to anyone in the community.
“Wesley nurses have to be comfortable and respectful of diversity,” Perez said. They have to have spiritual maturity as well, she said, because their services often highlight the role faith plays in healthcare.
Perhaps the most important contribution Wesley nurses make is in healthcare education, Perez said.
“Statistically,” she said, “better educated populations are healthier.”
But underserved locations often have broad misunderstanding of what healthcare means, Perez said. People equate healthcare with disease management.
The Wesley nurses’ holistic approach looks beyond treating disease to the relationship between lifestyle choice and health.
“We have to help them understand that concept, or we will have people always dependent on healthcare providers,” Perez said.
“Just because you get old, you don’t have to get diabetes. Your children don’t have to be heavy because you are. These are lifestyle choices. Health education will be pivotal in turning the tide for a lot of people.”
Wesley nurses help people identify health education resources, Perez said.
“They (nurses) become the bridge,” she said. “They help people navigate the healthcare system.”
An example is pharmaceutical assistance. Perez said every drug company has a program that offers free prescription drugs.
“Accessing them is difficult,” she said, “but we have become smart.”
Wesley nurses have the resources to help people with low incomes complete their applications, Perez said.
“If they’re not spending so much of their money on drugs,” she said, “it can go to other needs.”
Nurses themselves don’t operate clinics in churches. But when a particular need arises, such as for flu shots, nurses see that it is met, Perez said.
Wesley nurses regularly conduct or facilitate health-related workshops. For example, Judy Davis, Wesley nurse at Laurel Heights UMC, San Antonio, recently provided cardio-pulmonary resuscitation training.
The CPR class came about as a result of a survey asking church members what they would like to see the church do for the health of the congregation, Davis said.
“We have a more elderly congregation,” said Roy Campbell, chair of the church’s health cabinet. “But we also have a lot of youth programs. Judy keeps us prepared for any eventuality of a health and nurturing nature.”
Davis said, “We have a responsibility to our community as well as to our congregation. Offering care and increasing the health education of the people in the community helps everyone.”
Wesley nurses get a different kind of job satisfaction from nurses who do more technical work, Perez said. That’s because it may take longer to see the outcome of their efforts. But the impact can be longer lasting.