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The Parish Nurse is given eyes of faith, ears of compassion, and the touch of warmth to recognize God’s healing presence. God then unifies the Parish Nurse’s education and experience with these senses and works His wonders for those in need of healing in mind, body, and spirit.

The Parish Nurse concept originated in the United States under the pioneering guidance of the late Rev. Granger E. Westberg (left), a Lutheran Pastor, hospital chaplain and author of the celebrated book, Good Grief.

In 1984, Rev. Westberg developed a partnership between Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois and six Chicago-area churches, each with a Parish Nurse.

The rest is history that Parish Nurses continue to write…


In 2005, the name "Parish Nursing" was renamed to "Faith Community Nursing" (FCN). This new name was chosen, to embody an interfaith awareness of our brother and sister nurses serving in various faith traditions.
 
Throughout the DPNN's website, we will continue to use the title Parish Nurse. In this, it is with heartfelt gratitude that the DPNN celebrates the history of Parish Nursing and honors its evolution to the nursing practice paradigm found in Faith Community Nursing.
 
FCN is defined as: "…the specialized practice of professional nursing that focuses on the intentional care of the spirit as part of the process of promoting wholistic health and preventing or minimizing illness in a faith community." (Faith Community Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, 2005.)
 
Simply, Parish Nurses serve in God's image to effect whole health healing in mind, body, and spirit through their expertise and presence in: