History of Advocate Faith Community nurse ministry

In 1984, Lutheran General Hospital, through the vision and efforts of the Rev. Granger Westberg, initiated the first Parish Nurse program. An ecumenical program from the onset, these partnerships included three Lutheran churches, two Roman Catholic churches, and one Methodist congregation.

Evangelical Health Systems developed its Parish Nurse program in 1989 with three congregations: First Congregational Church of Christ in Chicago, Kenwood United Church of Christ in Chicago, and Peace Memorial Church in Palos Park. In 1995, Lutheran General Health System and Evangelical Health System merged to form Advocate Health Care.

Advocate Faith Community Nursing was designed to build on and strengthen capacities of individuals, families, and congregations to understand and care for one another in light of their relationship with God, their faith traditions, themselves, and the broader society.

Over the years, as part of Advocate Health Care's continuum of care, the Faith Community Nurse Ministry was active in 39 diverse congregations scattered throughout the metropolitan Chicago area, including Uptown, Kenwood and Little Village, as well as suburban settings such as Western Springs, Naperville, Arlington Heights and Antioch.

Effective January 1, 2015, Advocate Health Care Parish Nurse Ministry officially adopted the name Faith Community Nurse Program to reflect the diversity of practice settings and to align with the name used by the American Nurses Association and the certification process now available through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Advocate's Faith Community Nurse Program, committed to providing excellence to communities served, established the Faith Community Nurse Support Network in 2002. The Faith Community Nurse Support Network [PDF] links faith community nurses with the resources and support of the Faith Community Nurse Program and the related services of Advocate Health Care, such as support services (including materials), faith community nurse expertise, on-going education, spiritual support, and networking opportunities to faith community nurses located within the Advocate service areas.