Parish Nurse Network in Maryland
A Parish Nurse Network of fifty-two congregations with access to 27,850 parishioners was developed in
Washington County, Maryland.
The goals of the project are to train parish nurses about patient education and blood pressure
measurement so they can educate 4,500 parishioners about hypertension risk factors, offer blood
pressure screenings to 1,000 parishioners and provide blood pressure monitors and coaching to 50
parishioners by June 30, 2014.
Partners
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Washington County, MD Health Department
Meritus Health
Delmarva Foundation
Public Health Nursing Role
The Parish Nurse Coordinator trained parish nurses to provide education about hypertension, blood
pressure screenings, self-monitoring and coaching.
Products Developed
The project is using the Blood Pressure Wheel prepared by Delmarva Foundation (refer to attached)
Outcomes
Forty-one nurses were trained and provided with educational materials in Jan 2014.
Twenty-two parish nurses from thirteen congregations in Washington County, MD were trained to lead
self-monitoring and coaching program:
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A hundred percent of the nurses successfully completed training and passed competency test in
March 2014
Parish nurses identified and met with fifty-six parishioners and provided them with a blood
pressure kit for self-monitoring in April 2014.
Patient outcomes to be collected in July 2014.
Contact Info
Mary McPherson
Program Manager Washington County Health Department
E-mail: Mary.mcpherson@maryland.gov
Pam Peitz
Meritus Health
E-mail: Pam.peitz@meritushealth.com
Wendy Zimmerman
Meritus Health Parish Nurse Coordinator
Phone: 301-766-7840
E-Mail: Wendy.zimmerman@meritushealth.com