St. Mary's Parish Nurse Ministry Program
Ruth E. Williams, RN, MEPD, MSN

Dear Viewers, PEACE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL. This month let's focus on some history of parish nursing at Viterbo University Lacrosse, Wi.

About the Coordinator... A Parish Nurse is a... The Basic Parish Nurse Ministry Program is... Examples of Parish Nurse Ministries... St. Mary's Parish Nurse Newsletter... Notes from Students & Clients... Home Page

I attended a parish nurse class in June of 1992 at Concordia University, Mequon, Wi. After completing this class, I started my parish nursing practice at St. Mary's church in Richland Center, Wi. At this time, I was a faculty member of Viterbo University in the nursing department. I was asked to write a course on spirituality for RNS registered nurses in 1993. In the process of writing this course I realized it was more appropriate for parish nursing. This was the first course on parish nursing which was placed in the Viterbo Catalogue as a 300 course which started parish nursing at Viterbo University. This course consisted of five units on the concepts of: Parish Nurse Role in Spirituality and Healing; Wholeness, Wellness, Illness; Spiritual Dimension; Cultural Dimension; and Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Dimensions. The first class I taught was at St. Joseph's hospital in Hillsboro, Wi with then Bishop Raymond Burke officiating at the very first dedication for Parish Nurses in the St Francis Chapel in the hospital. I taught this course for many RNS in Wi between 1993 and 2000. Then I attended the International Parish Nurse Resource Center (IPNRC) faculty preparation course held at the Divine Word Institute in Techny, Il. There we received the more standardized modules for educating parish nurses internationally. This new course was taught throughout Wi cities such as Lacrosse, Hudson, Rice Lake, Janesville, Wausau, New Richmond, Reedsburg. Green Bay, Prairie du Chien, Eau Claire, Beloit, Rothschild, Richland Center and Sparta. The Parish Nurse Coordinator course I taught in Baraboo and Lacrosse, Wi. I have attended nearly every Faculty Retreat held at the IPNRC in St. Louis, Mo since 2000. During this time, I wrote and organized many retreats/updates for parish nurses which were held at the Franciscan Spirituality Center in Lacrosse, Wi. In 2002, I created my web site www.parishnurseheartland.com, where an average of 30,000 to 36,000 visit my web site from many different countries such as UK, Ireland, Canada, China, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Sweden, Germany, Egypt, Norway, India, Christmas Island, and Seychelles to name a few. In 2007, I had a book published, "A COLLECTION OF PARISH NURSE NEWSLETTERS" by the Dorrance Publishing Co. www.dorrancebookstore.com. In a historical perspective, Viterbo University has created history, broken new ground, and fostered new ideas for nursing and parish nursing. Through these years, I believe we have educated about 1500 parish nurses. These years have been fruitful and rewarding when I know that many of the parish nurses I have taught are active in churches, clinics, hospital, and nursing homes and other states throughout the United States. Many thanks and prayers to all. John 10:10 states, "I came that they might have life and have it to the full." My book, A COLLECTION OF PARISH NURSE NEWSLETTERS is available at www.dorrancebookstore.com; amazon.com; Eden Book Store (1-877-627-5653) toll free. Ocooch Book Store (1-608-647-8826).