Parish Nurse Ministry Forum Held at Christian Health Care Center

Christian Health Care Center (CHCC) recently held its first Parish Nurse Ministry Forum. Years ago, a group of parish nurses began the North New Jersey Parish Nurse Network, which later disbanded.  In conversations with Douglas A. Struyk, CPA, LNHA, CHCC’s President and CEO, Carol O’Neill, RN, parish nurse at the Old Paramus Reformed Church, expressed an interest in continuing to provide professional enrichment for parish nurses.  In collaboration with CHCC’s Pastoral Resource Coordinator, Pastor Carol Mutch, the concept was developed for providing an opportunity for parish nurses and other church leaders interested in parish health ministry to meet, network, and interact on a topic germane to their work. 

            The keynote forum speaker, Rev. James Knol, LCSW, CHCC’s Pastoral Care Director, gave an introduction to resilience theory and provided insights on the causative factors for why some people deal with life interruptions and upheavals more easily than others. The forum was well received by the participants, who described the experience as enlightening, useful, excellent, informative, and resourceful. Based on the enthusiastic response of the participants, CHCC will continue to offer Parish Nurse Ministry Forums. CHCC will host its second Parish Nurse Ministry Forum from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, November 20. For more information, contact Diane Cioffi at dcioffi@chccnj.org or by phone at (201) 848-5839.