Discovering The Mature Lifestyle
Acupuncture and yoga are two highlights at a Lakeville store. Page 3
Mind & Spirit
August 20, 2015
August Issue
Bloomington parish nurse helps with medical, spiritual needs BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Doris Acton was living in Chicago in the late ‘80s when she first heard about parish nurses. The Rev. Granger Westberg, a Lutheran minister in Chicago who later was credited with being a pioneer in holistic care, was talking about ways to bridge the gap between physical care from the medical community and spiritual care through the clergy. “I met him,” Acton said. “He felt the nursing profession could do that, could walk in both worlds. Nurses within a church community often see the strong physical connection between social, emotional and spiritual and are able to look at the whole continuum.” In 1998, after moving to Minnesota and completing a parish nurse training program through Concordia University, Acton became a parish nurse, now known as a faith community nurse. “It works really well for me and my personality,” said Acton, who works at the 750-member Normandale Hylands Methodist Church in Bloomington. The church’s program is under the Park Nicollet umbrella that includes Mount Olivet and Bethlehem Lutheran churches in Minneapolis, Richfield Methodist, and St. John’s Lutheran in Mound. “There are so many phases to the job: counseling, referrals, education and health advocacy,” Acton said. “How it’s done is really up to the person who is given the job.” Because she works in south Bloomington, where the income levels are higher than in some areas, Acton said, “My job is more focused on looking at options for cancer patients, going with people to their doctor’s appointment, or sitting with families while they’re ex-
Taking a church member’s blood pressure is just one of many skills that are needed for Doris Acton’s job as a faith community nurse at a Bloomington church. periencing a crisis. If you’re working in a more urban area, the focus is all different. You’re concentrating on food and shelter needs.” Every church focuses on its own needs, so it’s important for the parish nurse to listen to the congregation,
Acton said. “I’ve been so lucky to be able to be in a faith community where they allow me to do a lot,” said Acton, who has helped with grief support groups and ACTON - TO PAGE 3