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Parish nurse considers spiritual, emotional wellbeing, as well as physical

 

By Kaye Hult

Rosemary McDougall begins parish nursing program.

 

Believing interaction with people is important for emotional wellbeing, physical health and spiritual life, Rosemary McDougall, a registered nurse, incorporates touch, listening and prayer in her visits as a parish nurse.

Five years ago, Fr. Tim Ritchey came to serve St. George’s parish in Post Falls, St. Stanislaus in Rathdrum and St. Joseph’s in Spirit Lake.  He had a passion to establish a parish-nursing ministry as a way to expand outreach the churches were doing through assistance to people in need, a feeding program and a pregnancy support center.

He asked Rosemary, coordinator of elementary religious education at St. George’s, to be trained and begin the ministry.  Three years ago, she attended training with the Inland Northwest Faith Community Nursing in the Tri-Cities.  She did the 40-hour session in two 10-hour days on two weekends. 

“I knew the first day that God was calling me to do that,” she said.  “God continues to energize me for this ministry, giving me the strength and wisdom to keep going,” she said.

After Rosemary took the parish nursing training, she spent a day at Fr. Tim’s former parish, Holy Apostles, in Meridian, Idaho. 

“They showed me many things they do and told me about ways to begin new programs,” she said.

To introduce the parish-nursing ministry, she began by speaking to the congregations. 

“I explained that parish nursing looked at mind, body and spirit, all of which, combined, make for good health,” Rosemary said.

She spoke of the kinds of things she could do, and then she began to make herself visible throughout the parish.  For instance, she began doing blood pressure checks.

At first, her ministry was sporadic.  She was still working at Kootenai cancer clinics in Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls, from which she retired in July 2015 after 15 years. 

“It was time to retire,” she said.  “The Lord was calling me more fully to the ministry.”

“Since my retirement, I have had more time for the ministry, which has resulted in its growth,” she said.  “It has become a vital part of the parish’s outreach.”

Through the parish-nursing ministry, Rosemary reaches out to individuals affiliated with the three parishes.  Most clients are from St. George’s.

She touches people’s lives in diverse ways.  She takes patients to doctor’s appointments and visits people in their homes, hospitals and long-term care facilities.

She might prepare a week of medications for some parishioners or check a parishioner’s dressings after surgery to make sure the wounds stay healthy.

No matter what the reason for her visit, she spends time visiting with her patients, prays with them at the end or for them afterwards.

“I always make sure touch is involved,” she said.  “If I touch them, they know I’m there and concerned.  Touch reinforces that they are a person, not a disease.

“No one would touch lepers, but Jesus did,” she said.

Rosemary has to document every encounter with every individual, even phone calls.  Faith Community Nursing, of which she is now a member, provides her with a confidential website where she keeps her records.

One person helps when Rosemary is on vacation.  She expects to need assistance as the load grows.

Last October, she coordinated an estate-planning seminar at St. George’s Church for about 80 people.

At 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 19, she will hold a second free, public estate-planning seminar, at St. Stanislaus Church in Rathdrum.

Fr. Tim will discuss end-of-life issues from the Catholic perspective.  An attorney will speak about wills and living wills.  A financial planner will present, which should draw younger people.  Representatives from Yates and English funeral homes will speak about pre-planning funerals. 

The seminar is a way to invite the Rathdrum and Spirit Lake congregations to be more involved with the parish nurse ministry.

Rosemary first talked about becoming a nurse when her third grade teacher in Alpha, N.J., near New York City, asked students what they wanted to be when they grew up.

She received her LPN certificate in 1976 after studies at Warren County Community College.  For six years until she enlisted in the Army, she worked with mentally disabled people.

After serving in Missouri and Texas, she was stationed in Berlin, Germany, when the Berlin Wall was still in place.  She also served in Massachusetts and Alaska in various nursing jobs.

When she left the army in 1988, she was a single mother.  Having traveled through the Inland Northwest on her way to Alaska, she decided to settle in this area with her son.

Through a distance-learning program at New York University, Rosemary earned her degree as a registered nurse (RN) in 1995.

She worked in long-term care for a while and then in the Kootenai cancer clinics.

“I am involved with people at my church who have cancer, so I’m still doing oncology,” she said. 

Beyond parish nursing, Rosemary volunteers with the Area Agency on Aging Senior Medicare Patrol, making presentations on Medicare, and she is on the St. George’s parish pregnancy support center team.

For information, call 208-699-6060 or rosemarymcdougall@frontier.com.




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