The businesses advertised on this site are owned by church members or supported by the church.
Parish Nurse Office
Nurse combines Church and Medical care:
First United Methodist Church of Fort Smith has a Parish Nurse Ministry made possible through a grant from the First United Methodist Foundation Board of Trustees. Parish nursing is an emerging nursing specialty that is endorsed by the American Nurses Association. Janice Sudbrink leads the parish nurse program at FUMC. She has spent more than 25 years in the nursing field and has recently completed the Basic Preparation Parish Nurse Course from St. Louis School of Nursing.
What is Parish Nursing? A parish nurse, who is a registered nurse, serves in a variety of roles with in the congregation. These roles include health educator, a liaison with community health organizations, a facilitator/coordinator of groups and volunteers, and a clarifier of the close relationship between faith and health. A Parish nurse tends to the physical, social, and spiritual needs of their clients. The Parish Nurse looks at the whole person and is able to deal with the faith part and the spiritual part of the person.
Rev. Granger Westberg, a Lutheran minister, originally developed the Parish Nurse program in 1984. The concept was to demonstrate the church's role in preventive medicine. A lot of Janice's ministry at FUMC is health education and preventive medicine. The Parish Nurse ministry organizes mini-clinics (blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol checks (for glucose and cholesterol information click here)) utilizing the medical trained members of the church, sponsors blood drives and health fairs, and offers CPR training and health counseling for diet and medications. Through the Parish Nurse Ministry, several potential health problems have been uncovered. For example, through the baseline assessments several members have discovered elevated cholesterol levels, increased blood pressures or elevated fasting glucoses. With diet changes and checkups with their physicians, many have improved their health and their lab values.
Everyday is exciting and different with the Parish Nurse Ministry at FUMC. One day Janice may visit those at home who have recently been hospitalized or one day she may take 40 blood pressures here at the church. The Parish Nurse ministry is always evolving. It is so rewarding to witness how God uses this ministry to reach out not only to the members of our church but to the community as well.
If you would like more information about starting a Parish Nurse ministry in your church, you can contact Janice Sudbrink at the church office at 479-782-5068 or email her at jsudbrink@fsfumc.org.
Ten Commandments for a Heart-Healthy Temple (click here)
Blood Drive
Please check back for our next blood drive date.
Baseline Health Assessments
We will offer cholesterol screenings, that include HDL and LDL’s, glucose testing and blood pressure checks.
Baseline Health Assessments are going great. Call today (782-5068) for
your appointment. Assessments take about 15 minutes and include weight,
blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol. For
a lesson in cholesterol click here. The only cost is $8.00 for Cholesterol (Includes HDL, LDL, Triglycerides) and glucose
testing.
Stepping to Fitness at FUMC
Why not use the Church as a Walking Track! Click here for information about the walking path at FUMC.
First United Methodist Church, 200 North 15th, Fort Smith, AR 72901