|
| Home |
| About Parish Nursing |
| Education |
| Basic Prep Course |
| Continuing Education |
| News & Events |
| Network Meetings |
| Ministry News |
| About Us |
| Meet Us |
| Our Mission |
| Become a Member |
| Contact Us |
| Donate |
| Resources |
| Newsletter |
| Articles |
| Books & More |
| Links |
Hilton Publishing is the only national book publisher focused on minority health and wellness. The company was founded by an African-American cardiothoracic surgeon who wanted to ensure that those in underserved communities had the most relevant and up-to-date books and patient education materials available to them. Among the offerings:
To order, contact:
Hilton Publishing Company
110 Ridge Road
Munster, Indiana 46321
Phone: (219) 513-9030
Fax: (219) 513-9077
E-Mail: leslie@hiltonpub.com
The Large-Print Ministry is offering two CDs that can help the blind and visually-impaired in their devotions and enable them to more fully participate in worship.
Blind individuals with electronic note-takers and special software and
visually-impaired people with access to computers can use the CDs. The
material can be loaded into a note-taker device and re-edited into a form of
Braille. Optical-character readers that can read material formatted in
Microsoft Word should also be able to read both CDs.
To order, please send a self-addressed, stamped 6 x 9 inch envelope with
three 39-cent stamps attached (four if it's a padded envelope) to: Ann
Dahlen, 1900 6th Avenue, Apt. 513, Rock Island, IL 61201. Please indicate
which CD you want. For more information, email
anndahlen3@aol.com or
largeprinthelp@aol.com.
Lynda W. Miller, RN, BSN, MSN, PhD, has just published a new book, Faith and Health: A Framework for Christian Nurses. The book is designed to meet the need of Christian nurses in a wide range of settings—hospital, community, nursing education, research, and particularly parish nursing—for a clearly Biblical theoretical foundation for their work. It includes 30 pages of resources. The author is a nurse educator and recognized leader in the field in both the US and Canada.
You can read excerpts of the book and order it from the author's website. You can also order it from the HMA website.
Health Ministry Journal, the official journal of the Health Ministries Association, is an exciting blend of practical and scholarly articles pertaining to health ministry programs and practices. Topics include:
In addition to being the means to share information, this quarterly publication offers the opportunity for clergy and nurses to obtain contact hours for continuing education. For details, visit www.healthministryjournal.com.
Journal of Christian Nursing, a publication of Nurses Christian Fellowship and InterVarsity Press, published now in partnership with Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, is a great adjunct for parish nurses. Sample topics include spiritual care, personal growth, ethical/legal issues, and mental/emotional health. To subscribe to JCN, go to www.lww.com. You will be directed to the JCN product page. Click on the "Subscribe/Renew" button and check you Shopping Cart in the upper left corner of the page.
Partners in Healing: Healthcare Organizations and Parish Communities
Compiled by The Catholic Health Association of the United States
Laying out the case for the involvement of a local parish in healing, this book is a helpful resource for nurses or clergy who may be looking to introduce the idea of parish nursing to others in their faith community. It discusses the change form hospital-based to community-based services, talks about the church's role in healing, and discusses the importance of prevention in the continuum of care. The book ends with a section on enacting partnerships between healthcare organizations and parish communities.
Parish Nursing: Development, Education, and Administration
Edited by Phyllis Ann Solari-Twadell and Mary Ann McDermott. Elsevier Mosby Publishers
This textbook provides "meat and potatoes" material for a practicing parish nurse or coordinator. Covering diverse topics such as Competencies, Documentation, Collaboration, Administration, Grant Writing and Public-Private partnership, it draws upon the collective wisdom of twenty parish nurse coordinators and educators form around the United States.
Health, Healing and Wholeness: Engaging Congregations in Ministries of Health
by Mary Chase-Ziolek, The Pilgrim Press
This book provides a valuable new perspective for clergy and health professionals working with congregations to promote the health of congregations and communities. Chapter one begins with a conceptual framework for engaging congregations in ministries of health. Mary challenges congregations to consider what or who is driving an interest in health ministry; how open is the congregation to the idea; what would hinder the congregation from exploring the concept of health ministry; and finally, what information is needed before beginning? Some congregations are not ready to begin but first must do a careful review of strengths, weaknesses, and formulate a vision for health ministry as well as what it means.
The next two chapters focus on both historical and contemporary perspectives on health, healing, and wholeness and what it means to be part of a caring community of faith. Not only on the idea of reclaiming historic traditions but looking at trends in society such as the growing interest in secular spirituality and health and changes in governmental structures that are creating new possibilities for collaboration in faith and health.
In chapters 4-6, the author focuses on the importance of understanding congregational culture, building its capacity to promote health. Which she states is the key to successful health ministries. Mary provides examples from specific churches with health ministries that reflect both the culture of the congregation and the culture of the surrounding community. She addresses factors that influence the congregational culture, how to understand the culture, gathering information on congregational culture, and reminding the reader that laying a firm foundation for health ministry takes time. For example, identifying congregational and community strengths, doing a health assessment, promoting health using a variety of methodologies.
In the final chapters of this valuable book, Mary clearly states “it is imperative that critical groundwork be laid first for health ministries to be sustainable.” Therefore, forming a group such as a health committee to support health ministries is critical. The health committee or health cabinet provides the opportunity for wider involvement of the church community, increasing the likelihood that the health ministries developed will be relevant to the congregation and not just one person’s idea.
The book includes a helpful congregational assessment guide that will help lay the groundwork for developing or expanding health ministries. She writes that the assessment is intended to provide a cognitive map, a way of thinking, as readers explore the possibilities for health ministries with a particular congregation.
Clearly this book demonstrates the publishers claim: to enhance congregational participation by integrating concepts of assets based community development and to utilize a community focused approach to health ministry that reaches beyond the walls of the church.
The Cultures of Caregiving: Conflict and Common Ground among Families, Health Professionals, and Policy Makers
Edited by C. Levine & T.H. Murray (2004)
Sometimes I read books that I had never intended to read, but because of another project I am working on I come across a real gem. This book is one of them and since it focuses on family care and family work, it is very appropriate for parish nurses. The chapters represent issues, historical trends and current state of affairs of the relationship between family caregivers and the health care system.
The first chapter deals with a national survey about the informal family care system that our formal healthcare system is so very dependent upon. Using a weighted sample, it was found that 1 in 5 persons or 21.8% of the population reported that they were current caregivers. Nearly 85% had not hired or arranged for healthcare providers in the past year. This is fertile ground for community nursing of which Parish nurses are a part.
The second chapter is a personal story of memory and grief of a woman whose family came from Cuba and her experiences with home care in the U.S., trying to get Spanish speakers, and her parents’ death. She concludes by saying, “I long for the day when the whole patient and family are placed at the center of care; when a patient is not reduced to mere symptoms and the family caregivers are ignored; when health care is not fragmented; when professional roles are not so rigidly defined; when someone responds both to the diseases of the body and the diseases of the heart and soul.”
Chapter 5, a favorite of mine, “Nurses and Their Changing Relationship to Family Caregivers,” gives a historical context of family care, beginning in the late 1800s with hiring trained nurses by the wealthy and when visiting nurses were deployed by public agencies to care for poor family members. These nurses saw their role as family nurse educators, teaching families how to care for the sick. This changed with the advent of hospitals where “real nursing” took place. This change was reflected in what nursing students wanted to become, not home nurses, but ED, ICU or NICU nurses, where nursing the patient’s equipment, not the family, is the focus of interest and excitement.
The author, Mathy Mezey, the director of the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for the Advancement of Geriatric Nursing Practice at New York University, concludes that there is a need for bolstering family care as the central issue of health care. This is especially true with the forthcoming discussion of Medicare funding in the Congress. How will families who give care be engaged in the discussion and treated as important, respected partners?
Anyway, this is an interesting little book, only 182 pages, with a variety of chapters, from surveys, to family stories, policy, and popular culture (the movies). This would be a provocative “summer read.”
Reviewed by Emily Hitchens
Former Board Member of PSHM
Parish Nursing: A Handbook for the New Millenium
by Sybil Smith
This book is a guide to designing programs that can complement a congregation’s ministry who might wish to begin a parish nurse program or to explore the topics further. Included in this volume is a compendium of the field of parish nursing, its history, current and future role, and some practical suggestions for implementation and ongoing quality improvement of such a program.
The book explores such issues as fund raising, the variety of challenging situations in which the parish nurse must operate, and the care giver’s role at life’s end. The final chapters on end-of-life care offer some insight into the growing demands posed by persons who are near death, but who will experience the dying process outside of the hospital setting.
It can be used by those already in the field of parish nursing to enhance their work and to reassure them that the challenges they face are not unique. It is an excellent source of information for pastoral administrators who may be reluctant to invest times and funds into what may seem a redundant and potentially costly venture.
Available through Haworth Publishers (1-800-429-6784)
The Special Needs Ministry Handbook - A Church's Guide to Reaching
Children with Disabilities and Their Families
By Amy Rapada.
The author writes: "Most churches want very much to welcome children with disabilities, but often aren't sure how to accommodate their needs. Setting up a special needs ministry allows us to reach out to and care for these families in their times of trials. It allows special families to stay strong in this world. The special needs mission was made clear to me when at the age of 4 1/2, my then healthy son began the onset of a rare disease, inexplicable seizures and loss of skills." Today, ninety five percent of those with disabilities are still unchurched.
With this in mind, let us all embrace differences throughout our religious communities and in doing so bring others to see the light. This book is both a practical and inspirational resource written for church leaders, Sunday school teachers, and families with disabilities.
Faith & Illness: Reflections on God's Sustaining Love
By
Nancy Groves
In the work Faith & Illness: Reflections on God’s Sustaining Love, author and medical social worker Nancy Groves shares a message of encouragement and hope for all those dealing with chronic or life-threatening illness. The work seeks to remind the sufferer of God’s compassion and love, to provide comfort for patients (especially on the dark days), and to guide the patient to a fuller understanding of the emotional impact of his or her illness.
Each chapter begins with a Biblical quotation followed by a poem, some questions to promote guided reflection upon one’s experiences, and a brief devotion. The chapters cover such topics as "Searching for an Answer," "Adjusting to Endless Change," and "God’s Gift of Healing." This work makes a wonderful gift to anyone suffering with illness and gives the caregiver insight into the feelings, fears, and faith of the individual suffering with chronic illness.
Wait, Beloved, for Darkness's Gift
By Letha C. Chamberlain
The reader of these poems—perhaps caught in “darkness”—must know that the
journey of life is so special and sacred that all gentleness is meant
herein. If these poems are in any way intrusive, they should be set aside
for another day—when, perhaps, another “light” can be shed on them. There is
only intent to spread the abounding love I have experienced, nothing else.
This peace, this joy, this bliss—I know it to be God’s intention for all
humanity. Be well; noel! Alleluia!
Two book reviews from recent readers taken from Amazon.com (where the book
is available):
Letha dives down to the darkness we all dread. There, apart from our
superficial religious politics, critiques of beliefs and practices, and from
our activism with expectations of certain results, she leads us down to
where all is well; where we are well. The darkness allows us to become
detached so we can discover the beautiful depth of our being that is so
loved by God. Allow Letha to lead you briefly and through many situations,
in her beautiful poetic style, to the goodness that is unnamed and
uncontrolled: that is God within us.
While reading this spiritually in-depth collection of verse....I couldn't
help but think of David as he wrote his Psalms. Letha too takes you on a
personal journey of life and love of God. Her writings open your heart and
spirit in new ways. She inspires renewal of your communion with God during
times of struggle that become times of inspiration. This beautifully written
book is a wonderful source for meditation as well as spiritual food for
personal retreats. You will want to keep this book close by as it will
become part of you. A definite must for all who seek the presence and
presents of God.
Crossing the Desert: Learning to Let Go, See Clearly, and Live Simply
By Robert J. Wicks
This book focuses on four questions each of us must repsond to in the spiritual life: What is filling me now? Why do I resist letting go? How do I let go? and the most intriguing one is, Once I let go and the 'room is swept clean' what do I fill myself with that is both satisfying yet still leaves me empty to experience life anew? Readers will encounter three gates that must be passed through in our spiritual journey: Passion, Knowledge, and Humility.
Healing Words for Healing People: Prayers and Meditations for Parish Nurses and Other Health Professionals
By Deborah L. Patterson. The Pilgrim Press
This book seeks to bridge the divide between clergy, physicians, nurses and other health professionals—all are healers. The meditations talk about stress, hospitality, seasons of our lives, fate, prayer, Sabbath and community. The prayers are attempts to fill gaps in the literature and address depression, infertility, adoption, job loss, mental illness, ecology, insomnia, abuse, and include general prayers for healers and healing.
When the Well Runs Dry
By Thomas Green
Drawing from his long experience as a Spiritual Director, Fr. Green offers a clear and uncomplicated explanation of what the difficulties and consolations or mature prayer are all about. If you are struggling with prayer beyond the beginnings and are seeking a reliable source of wisdom, When the Well Runs Dry will indeed be an answer to prayer.
The Enduring Heart: Spirituality for the Long Haul
By
Wilkie Au
In his book The Enduring Heart: Spirituality for the Long Haul author Wilkie Au discusses the mysticism of everyday life. He refers to this as “crabgrass contemplation” and invites the readers to foster a “mysticism of everyday life” – the phrase used by Jesuit Karl Rahner to describe Ignatian spirituality. He continues that when viewed with the eyes of faith, “the very commonness of everyday things harbors the eternal marvel and silent mystery of God and his grace.”
Wilkie wrote that: “St. Ignatius took for granted that God is always present and at work in us. The spiritual challenge, according to him, is to recognize how and to respond with gratitude and openness. The prayer that is most characteristic of Ignatian spirituality is the awareness examen, or the examination of consciousness. The examen carves out a few moments of solitude in the midst of a busy day to allow one to reflect on what is going on and where our actions and choices are taking us.”
The examen is a form of discernment, because it enables us to look concretely at events and ask Where is God in this situation. How is God leading me? What is God saying to me? How was God there for me in that experience? What in my present situation is leading me to God and others in love? What is leading me away? What is the underlying spirit in my dealing with others? What is really going on in what’s happening in my life these days?
Such questions invite us to find and respond to God in our concrete, daily experiences – that with the help of God’s illuminating grace, we can continue to stay in touch with the currents and undercurrents of our fast-paced lives.” Lenten Season is here and these thoughts invite us to use this time to respond to God with gratitude and openness – we need solitude to get the meaning and significance of our experiences.
Aging in Stride: Plan Ahead, Stay Connected, Keep Moving
Christine Himes, MD, Elizabeth N. Oettinger, M.Div. and Dennis E. Kenny, J.D.
If you have been looking for an in-depth, comprehensive resource on assisting your older population and their families, there is no better resource than Aging in Stride.
The book begins with the four building blocks: planning and teamwork, staying physically active, relationships with others and nurturing your spirit – total wellbeing. There are 45 different issues you may encounter as you or your loved one ages. Some of these issues are safety, living options, health concerns, if you need care in a nursing facility, legal issues, financial concerns, support of the family and friends as well as end-of-life issues. The section on end-of-life issues presents a wonderful way to look at your values and give direction to your family.
Along with each issue there are worksheets and forms related to an issue that may be copied and given to your loved ones in regard to your wishes. After each issue there are other resources listed pertaining to that particular issue.
The website that goes along with the book keeps the information updated. The forms are also on the website for you to print from as well.
Aging in Stride can be purchased from Care Source Health Care Communications (1-800-448-5213) or through the website (www.AgingInStride.org).
This has been a very helpful resource for my husband and myself in helping our children understand our wishes. We have also used the resource to help my sister in assisting her mother in law as she moved into assisted living. This is a must for every household who has an older person in their lives as well as for themselves. It is an outstanding resource.
Reviewed by Karen Gwilym
The Aging America Resource Guide
Charles Puchta
The Aging America Resource Guide is concise and encompasses the primary situations families tend to face in caring for a loved one. The book takes a practical approach to helping families understand and apply the information in non-threatening ways. The preemptive approach of the book can help families avoid many of the crisis situations that are likely to arise.
To help people realize the issues, Aging America Resources focuses on four puzzle pieces: Lifestyle, Emotional, Administrative and Memorial. Throughout the books, readers gain perspective and tools to help them understand the issues, options and most importantly, how to apply the information to each family’s unique situation. By helping people understand the interrelationship of different caregiving issues, families are better able to make informed decisions that benefit all concerned.
In addition to many pertinent exercises throughout the book, Puchta has included a quick checklist to help people determine when it might be appropriate for them to take a more active role in a loved one’s life.
Puchta also simplifies the confusing government programs including Social Security, Medicare and clarifies alternative programs such as Medicare HMO’s. The book also addresses the importance of families having “The Talk” in order to understand and be in a position to carry out a loved ones wishes. He also addresses creating memories, memorializing a person’s life, end-of-life issues, grieving, and more. Throughout the book, Puchta tackles the difficult subjects, shares the critical aspects people need to know and provides practical solutions. That’s what makes this Guide so useful. The Guide also shares a comprehensive list of terms and resources that people will certainly find helpful.
For additional information on Aging America Resources or to order the book, visit www.CareMinistry.com or call 513-697-9696.
Anorexia from the Inside Out: A Self-Help Guide for the Anorexic
By Kristielynne Cutler
Written by an anorexic (over 20 years) who is also a health care provider. The book is intended for those afflicted with anorexia and provides a guide for managing and handling the illness. The stance of the author is that of the anorexic, not the health care provider, although at times the hats switch making this book all the more realistic and credible for the anorexic population. To order or read an excerpt, visit the publisher's website.
Copyright © 2007 Puget Sound Parish Nurse and Health Ministries. All rights reserved.
Contact Us