Congregational Wellness
Congregational Wellness promotes health and wellness in the Greater New Orleans area by educating congregation members to implement health ministries within their congregations and the communities they serve. We train registered nurses through the Church Nurse Education Program (CNEP) and train health advocates, community leaders and church members through the Lay Health Advocate Program (LHAP). After establishing health and wellness programs in faith communities, the church nurse and lay health ministers in collaboration with the pastor and leaders of the congregation guide the ongoing transformation of the faith community into a source of health and healing. Congregational Wellness assists in sustaining these wellness ministries by providing continuing education, congregational health assessments, retreats, quarterly health ministry meetings, networking, technical assistance, and a host of other program services.
History
The McFarland Institute introduced church nursing to the Greater New Orleans area in 1997 with pilot programs in three churches. Since that time, over 250 nurses have graduated from CNEP. These nurses volunteer their time and talents to develop, implement and evaluate health and wellness ministries in over 130 churches throughout the Louisiana parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and St. Tammany. The CNEP curriculum consists of 20 modules averaging 42 hours of instruction. The nurses are awarded continuing education units approved by the Louisiana State Nurses Association.
In 2004 LHAP was developed and implemented to provide health ministry leadership training to church members without a medical background. To date this program has trained over 130 lay health advocates to provide some of the education and screenings provided by the church nurses as well as to address community issues impacting the health and wellness of church members. Health ministry leaders have developed strategies tackling blighted housing, public school systems, environmental hazards and crime among others. The LHAP curriculum consists of 16 modules averaging 32 hours of instruction in community health advocacy, spiritual care and health education.
View the Congregational Wellness Church Brochure.
