The St. Francis Parish Nurse Program was started in 1993, bringing health services to parishes and their surrounding communities. The program’s goal is to promote health and wellness with a focus on empowering individuals to take an active role in maintaining their health and in the healing ministry of Christ. The name was changed to St. Francis Parish Nurse/Community Outreach Program to better reflect its ministry of reaching out to the general community.

The program’s initial emphasis was to assist with establishing parish health ministries so parishioners, those with and without medical backgrounds, were able to reach out to those in need among them. In the past 14 years, the program has served as many as 18 parishes. Services over the years have included home visitations and monitoring of the frail and homebound, monthly blood pressure screenings at the parishes as well as the coordination of health fairs. Health Ministry Training was also developed to educate volunteers on topics such as wholistic health, home visitations, healthy lifestyles, death and dying, domestic violence, and child sex abuse.

In keeping with the St. Francis Healthcare System mission, the St. Francis Parish Nurse/Community Outreach Program is committed to “creating healthy communities in the Spirit of Christ’s healing ministry.” Its vision is to promote wellness and healthy lifestyles focusing on the whole person, body, mind and spirit and to collaborate with other community agencies in bringing services and education to parishes, schools and the general community.

Today, services include:

• Developing health ministries where volunteers do the blood pressure screening, coordinate their own health fairs and health projects with the Parish Nurse as their guide.
• Teaching healthy lifestyle choices to elementary school children in both parochial and public schools.
• Collaborating with HMSA to promote breast cancer awareness.
• Collaborating with the Blood Bank of Hawaii in coordinating blood drives.
• Educating senior groups to be proactive in taking control of their health.
• Providing a case manager and program manager at a low-moderate income housing complex, Kukui Gardens, where there is a computer room for children and adults. The community center is noted as a Weed & Seed Safe Haven for children.

For more information, call the St. Francis Parish Nurse/Community Outreach Program at 547-6035.