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st economist sun stoumlieitfibune parish nursing treats the whole person through talking listening dhdjustbeing there i f i- l i bynoreenoleary correspondent ne york- region church ii has taken helping its jf parish members one step further since february grace anglican r church in markham has been running a parish nursing program as a way of serving the physical psychological and spiritual needs of its congrega- tiori- its a holistic iway of looking at the person said eileen ashley a parish nurse with grace church before we always looked at just the physicalarid the emotion- al now its the whble person and spirituality is at the centre of the practice ashley brought parish nursing to grace church after reading an article about the program she contacted interchurch health ministries the oshawa- based organization that controls parish nursing for all denomina- tionsthroughout ontario made a 1 presentation to the grace church advisory board and got the green light from there k the church as a health cabinet consists of 11 people including a pharmacist and nurses who help in the tasks that are involved with the program volunteers from the congregation often assist families and individuals talking with someone whos recently jost a loved one r driving an iridividualto the hospital for medical treatment orby simply making a casserole in a time of need vwalsb have people with no connection to health services ashley said ive brought some people on who are very spiritual and to me theyre really important the health cabinet provides many services for its congregation as well as the community cabinet members act as health educators conducting programs to raise health awareness in the community past topics have included prostate cancer nutrition arid medicines bloodpressure clinics are held every few months usually between services and healing and prayer workshops have also been offered a church shoulclbe a place of health and healing and wholeness you could not do this unless it was theologically and congregationally driven personal health counsellors are made available to discuss health problems and to recommend pro fessional medical involvement when necessary ashley acts as a referral source and liaison with congregational and community resources that provide social and medical sup port home or hospital visits are also made by ashley and the clergy when appropriate volunteers from the congrega tion often assist families and indi- viduals talking with someone whos recently lost a loved one dri ving an individual to the hospital for medical treatment or by simply making a casserole in a time of need ashley said she receives a lot of support from the parish there are so many good peo ple in this church its amazing she said a church should be a place of health and healing and wholeness you could not do this unless it was theologically and- congregationally driven she said there is usually a high demand for the personal coun selling aspect of parish nursing the majority of her work is done staff photosteve s0merv1lle eileen ashley brought parish nursing to her markham church and the congregation embraced the pro gram with open arms from home where she makes many of her followup phone calls thats the wonderful thing about doing this ashley said you can do one call at night or one call in the afternoon you dont i have to it all in a row although the program involves no direct handson nursing ashley said it has proven to be very bene ficial its important because of the ability to speak of spiritual things said ashley as a nurse you were never allowed to do that with this the whole person is included if you have a lot of hate and unforgive- ness and you can get rid of that your body will change too ashley stressed that every aspect of parish nursing is individ ual and confidentiality is extreme- ly important permission is always asked before involving doctprsor coun- sellors she said interest in the program has maintained and that every day is a learning experience so far grace church is the only church in york region involved in parish nursing and the first to begin outside of durham region according to henry fischer execu tive director of the interchurch health ministries since fischer along with three othere launched parish nursing in durham- congregations- in 1993 hes had to double his staff the project hasf exceeded expectations and there are nearly 50 ontario congregations involved in parish nursing fischer said some of the most recent addi tions are as far away as london and gobourg v getting involved bringing more congregations on board is the goal of the organization congregations wishing more information or to get involved can call interchurch health ministries at 905 4361572 grace church is presenting a health seminar on herbal medicines jan 20 at 730 pm all members of the community are welconfe to attend li mmonp smwp ana nappy m call dr h h waljibsmsiodno9cptomeiiist for a complete eye examination and evaluation to assess your needs call 471393 ji ashgrove medical centre 6633 highway 7 markham cy a iv i j rt jj wi p 4 v rx