NEHM Blog

One of the things I hope to be able to do in this blog is to highlight stories of health ministry in the Episcopal Church. Here is a terrific story about a new health clinic supported in part by the The Parish Church of St. Helena in Beaufort, SC. 

"The credit really goes to the Lord," said the Rev. Jeffrey Miller of St. Helena's Episcopal Church, whose parishioners have been among the most active supporters of the clinic.

The nonprofit, faith-based clinic provides primary and preventive health care at no cost to residents of Beaufort County who have limited income and cannot afford or cannot qualify for health insurance or Medicaid.

Estimates place the uninsured in Beaufort County at 20 percent to 25 percent of the population.

The clinic's services include family medical practice, internal medicine and prescription assistance. The clinic's physicians, physician assistants and nurses all are volunteers. Its medical providers are licensed by the state. Its doors at 1402 King St. will open to medical patients April 1.

http://www.beaufortgazette.com/180/story/741872.html#none

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102048542&ps=cprs
With only one grocery store in town, it's hard to cheat. And both the owners and the clerks at The Mercantile count calories for customers.

Co-owner Betty McNeil says some cash-register conversations go like this: "Two hundred thirty calories in that cupcake. Do you know what you're doing? Do you really want that?" she says, laughing. Then she notes that townspeople have to leave town to cheat. "It's 20 miles to the next Twinkie," she adds, laughing again.

"The Merc," as the locals call it, also aims for positive reinforcement with more fruit, vegetables and yogurt in its coolers. Demand for the good stuff has skyrocketed. And there are the signs in the storefront window charting the town's thinning waistlines.

If you want to do something special to celebrate "Brain Awareness Week” take the Brain Wiz Quiz at: www.brainwealth.org

Brain Awareness Week is March 16-22, 2009 and is sponsored by the Dana Alliance (www.dana.org), a non-profit group of 240 neuroscientists. This international campaign was launched in 1996, and is designed to promote the public's brain literacy amidst the avalanche of good news from researchers about the brain's ability to change and grow at any age.

Order your materials now so you can be prepared for National Wear Red Day 2009 on February 6th.

The NY Times has a column by a pediatrician discussing what to do when a middle schooler tells you something he doesn't want shared with parents. It is likely that this will come up at some point in your ministry, and so it is important that you are prepared in advance for how to handle it. This column provides an opportunity for your wellness team to discuss the issue in advance so that you will know what to do when it happens.

And he was horrified. He shook his head vehemently and asked me please not to interfere, and above all not to say a word to his mother, who was out in the waiting room because I had asked her to give us some privacy.

He wouldn’t have told me this at all, he said, except he thought our conversation was private. The situation at school wasn’t all that bad; he could handle it. He wasn’t in any danger, wasn’t getting hurt, he was just a little lonely. His parents, he said, thought that he was fine, that he had lots of friends, and he wanted to keep it that way.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/health/09klas.html