Heal the Sick

Publications and Accomplishments

---

Health Minister Certificate

Since 2017, over 400 people from across the United States have graduated from the Health Minister Certificate program. This Certificate equips and trains faith community members, clergy, public health professionals, social workers, chaplains, and others to support whole person health in their congregation and local community. The Certificate provides foundational language, concepts, critical thinking, self-care, and asset mapping skills in faith and health. The Certificate is innovative in leverage skills and expertise from numerous professional disciplines to help them improve communitty and congregational health. Every community and congregation is unique. The Certificate helps people explore different health ministry roles and models so one can decide which model works best for one's faith and health setting. To learn about the stories and the impact our health minister graduates are having in their congregation and communities, visit our Facebook page. To sign up for the latest Health Minister Certificate offering, click here. 

Journal of Religion and Health - "Engaging Faith-Based Organizations to Promote Health Through Health Ministries in Washington, DC" September 10, 2022 

This article describes capacity building and formative assessments completed at five faith-based organizations (FBOs) in Washington, DC to inform sustainable health promotion programming led by certified health ministers. Five FBO partners were recruited with two congregation members from each FBO completing a health minister certificate program. A series of health assessments were conducted to assess each FBO’s capacity to implement evidence-based lifestyle change programs that are responsive to congregation members’ health needs. Results indicated a need for programming to support older adults in managing high blood pressure and arthritis. Health ministers represent a significant opportunity for building capacity within FBOs to deliver programming that can improve health outcomes.

Catholic Health Association - “Improving the Lives of Older Adults Through Faith Community Partnerships: Healing Body, Mind and Spirit” 2016

The Catholic Health Association released a publication entitled, “Improving the Lives of Older Adults Through Faith Community Partnerships: Healing Body, Mind and Spirit” I n2016.  The 25-page booklet makes the case for greater partnership between health care organizations and faith communities in service to the elder populations they serve. It provides examples of current partnerships, suggestions for how to get started, fund and sustain the work, and shares relevant websites and resources, including HMA and Wesley Theological Seminary’s Health Minister certificate program (page 23). The document’s use is recommended for community benefit professionals, population health leaders, mission leaders, priests, bishops, health ministers, Faith Community Nurse coordinators at health systems, hospital leadership, and Faith Community Nurses.

The booklet is not exclusively for improving the lives of older adults.  Rather, the booklet contextualizes why partnerships in general between healthcare organizations, faith communities, and others are extremely important and beneficial to all parties.   The booklet highlights best practices and models, including training and navigator models and faith community nursing, occurring throughout the United States in parishes, healthcare systems, and collaborative networks.  The document was distributed to all Catholic bishops in the United States as a way to support current health ministry models and encourage the develop on new innovative ones.  As HMA’s national director of health ministers and the associate director of the Heal the Sick program, I had the honor of contributing to the writing and development of this booklet.  If you would like to download a free PDF of the document, click here.  You may also order hard copies (free with free shipping), please click here

---

The Partnership Center – Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and NIH Institute of Diabetes and Digestive  - Health Ministers Guide - Bladder Health,  October 2016.

During President Obama's administration, there was extensive work on translating health and science information into easy to read and understand resources such as Health Minister Guides (HMG). This was one of several Guides which provided, in 5 languages, need-to-know information and community interventions. The HMG series provided written information, posters, and variety of materials to get the topical information shared.  It was part of a larger effort to build resilient communities.  Some of the other topics were:  Health Minister’s Guide on Zika and the Zika Action Guide for Health Ministers, Viral Hepatitis – The Silent Epidemic, and Seasonal Flu Guide for Faith-Based and Community Organizations.

These resources were created because the Partnership Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships “recognized that Health Ministers are first responders, trusted messengers, accompaniers, and cultural key holders”. They viewed health ministers as “vital actors in an integrated-prevention focused health delivery system”. 

---

The Partnership Center – Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships - Face Covering Distribution to Communities of Color and Underserved Communities During COVID-19 Pandemic, 2021.

Wesley Theological Seminary and its health minister Certificate graduates collaborated with the HHS Partnership Center in delivering over 15,000 masks during the pandemic to communities of color and underserved communities across the US during the height of the pandemic.

---

American Nurse Today - Improving care and outcomes for patients with bladder conditions - July 12, 2017

https://www.myamericannurse.com/improving-care-and-outcomes-for-patients-with-bladder-conditions/

This nursing publication focused on how faith community nurses and nurses in general can help individuals and communities to overcome stigma and other care barriers around bladder conditions in healthcare and community settings especially in faith communities.

---

Health Ministries Association’s “The Health Minister Role: Guidelines and Foundational Curriculum Elements – Second Edition” - 2018

Wesley’s Health Minister Certificate is based on this Health Ministries Association’s 2018 publication.  The Health Ministries Association (https://hmassoc.org/) has been around for 35 years and it is one of our nation’s leading faith and health organizations.  I served as a board member on HMA for several years and I was the lead author of this publication. As we discussed, Wesley’s Health Minister Certificate serves the purpose of being an introductory, foundational course in whole person health and designed to equip people to enter and engage in faith and health in a variety of settings (congregations, public health, hospitals, community health, and others). 

---

National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors - 2018 publication 

https://www.nasmhpd.org/content/early-serious-mental-illness-guide-faith-communities

Wesley Heal the Sick held several health minister focus groups for the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors and their work on this SAMSHA publication on first episode psychosis.  Health ministers and Wesley provided valuable input to the content, layout, and design of this publication which is used still to engaged faith communities and faith leaders on this mental health topic.