Our Savior's Lutheran Church inducted Carol Shanahan to be the Parish Health Minister during services Sunday, March 22. This is a new position for the parish and a relatively new mission in general, but one that will definitely benefit members of the parish and community.

The Health Ministry program was developed to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of parishioners.

"With Mitchell County having the highest elderly population in the state, there are many older congregation members who might be somewhat house bound, their relatives live away from here or they don't have any, or for lots of other reasons they don't have much contact with society anymore. These are the people we hope to keep in touch with However, people don't have to be old to benefit from visits from Parish Health Minister. Often, young families, such as mothers with new babies or families experiencing special problems need a little extra help. Cancer or people with other diseases that might make them house-bound are other parishioners that could use some visits. That's where our services as Health Minister comes in. The mission intended is to promote wholistic health and spiritual wellbeing. We try to accomplish this by home visits, individual counseling, in some instances, group education, and coordination of the parish members in need with community health resources. I really can't stress that last sentence enough. I am not there to administer health care, but to determine if some sort of health care or other assistance is needed." Carol began.

"This position is new in our town, but there are already 600 congregations in the United States adopting the Parish Health Minister program, which isn't very many for the entire country. The position is new to me, but we have had recent, extensive training sessions of Health Ministers where our duties and expectations were studied . "

"Basically, the Health Minister's job is to serve as a health counselor to congregants, parish staff and community members. We are to promote an understanding between the person's life-style, attitude, faith and health by training us in activities as health classes, seminars, health fairs and educational materials. I will serve as a resource of what community services and agencies are available and can make appropriate referrals. After we have been at this for a time, together with Pastors Dennis Hanson and Roy Ott, we can try to assess the health-related needs of the congregation and recruit and coordinate volunteers to provide additional support in identified areas of need. I will be at times, a liaison between the parishioner and the pastor, but the pastors have many, many things they have to do, so hopefully, I can help a little in the health area. I in no way will do "hands on" nursing care or any invasive nursing procedures. The church ministers make recommendations of my calls. My duty is to evaluate the situation and recommend, if needed, other sources of health care."

"The church is one of the best sources for spiritual support. Often, just letting one another know we care is very important. I hope our visits can help people know someone is there if needed. There is a close tie between personal faith and good health. The program was started by a chaplain in the Chicago area that determined holistic health is a matter of body, mind and spirit." Shanahan continued.

"In summary, a good Parish Health Minister takes the time to listen, to counsel, to pray with people and to introduce them to other volunteers who might lend support. There is a support staff  board of this Parish Health Ministry of Our Savior's Lutheran who are: Pastor Dennis Hanson, Marilyn Bower, Shirley Rake, Faith Ott and myself. We hope that we can take an organized approach in keeping members of our congregation physically as well as stay spiritually healthy.

Carol is a native of Osage and received her RN degree in nursing from St. Mary's in Rochester, MN and has been a practicing RN in Osage and Charles City for the past 40 years. She is