Rebecca Knuffman Takes Over New Parish Nurse Program at St. Peter’s

This June, our parish was blessed to have Rebecca Knuffman begin serving as our parish nurse. Her love for nursing started from a young age. As a child, Rebecca was in a sledding accident, which resulted in a broken leg that required three surgeries and a two-month-long hospitalization.

"During that period, I was blessed with many kind nurses whose compassionate care inspired me to become a nurse," Rebecca says. "I attended St. Louis University School of Nursing and received my Bachelor of Nursing in 2000."

Following her graduation, Rebecca worked at St. Mary's Hospital in St. Louis in a cardiac unit. A couple of years later, she took a position in the ICU at St. Joseph's Hospital in her hometown of Milwaukee.

"My next move was to Madison, Wis., after getting engaged to my college sweetheart," she says. "There, I worked at Meriter Hospital in the Cardiac Cath Lab, Electrophysiology Lab, and Interventional Radiology Lab for several years while my husband, Jason, finished his Allergy/Immunology Fellowship at UW Madison.

"During that time our daughter, Hana, was born and soon followed by our daughter, Heidi," she adds. "After our second daughter was born, God graced me with the ability to stay home and raise our four beautiful daughters."

Rebecca's main role as parish nurse will be to integrate faith and healing to promote wellness within St. Peter Parish, with a focus on homebound, hospital, and nursing home parishioners. She will also accompany Fr. Leo and Fr. Pawel on home and hospital visits, as well as provide blood pressure checks following Mass on first Sundays.