Lee Health teams up for screening, aging events
The Lee Health Parish Nurse Program is teaming up with Right at Home In Home Care & Assistance and Shell Point Retirement Community to provide a series of free health screening and positive aging events, two of which are coming to this area.
The Parish Nurse Program will provide screenings for memory, vein, balance, oxygen saturation, vision, glucose, skin cancer, hearing, Body Mass Index, and blood pressure.
The Parish Nurse Program has 28 nurses in 30 congregations, and every year they have four health fairs that all the nurses attend, according to parish nurse manager Nancy Roberts, who has done this program for six years as a way to provide outreach into the community.
“We are fortunate to have Shell Point and Right at Home here to help us plan the health fairs. We have the nurses working in the churches and they reach out into the community and come together geographically for one particular health fair,” Roberts said. “We are blessed to be able to serve our community through these events.”
Each event will feature a guest speaker or panel focused on aging. The events run from 9 a.m.-noon and the speakers start their presentations at 10 a.m.
The topics and speakers at the local events include:
* Feb. 22, Christ Lutheran Church, 2507 Del Prado Blvd., Cape Coral “Elder Law Basics That Everyone Over 50 Needs to Know” with Kelly Fayer, P.A.
* March 22, Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 2951 Trail Dairy Circle, North Fort Myers “Planning for the Future, Financially” with Beth Prather, P.A.
Everything is free and people will be able to come and ask questions to the screeners.
“This is not diagnostic. This is to alert people that further work needs to be done on health concerns,” Roberts said. “Thanks to these screenings and the health fairs, we usually identify one or two people who need immediate care. This community outreach is one of the primary functions of the Parish Nurse Program.”
People will receive valuable information from numerous agencies regarding hospice services, advance directives, assisted living, injury prevention, in-home care, pharmaceuticals, skilled nursing care and other services.
Senior resource guides, door prizes and healthy snacks will also be provided.
The Parish Nurse Program was founded in 2000 and is part of Lee Health’s Spiritual Services department. The Program promotes holistic care of the body, mind and spirit by addressing the spiritual and emotional needs of patients, families, employees, volunteers and faith communities.
The program is always looking for nurses. There is a credential program offered once a year called the Faith Community Foundations Course, that allows new registered nurses to work within their faith communities, Roberts said.
“There are a lot of retired nurses that really want to credential themselves and work at their church,” Roberts said.
For more information on the program and the event, visit www.LeeHealth.org/spiritualservices/parish-nurse.asp or call Roberts at 343-5182.