Faith Community Nursing

A multi-authored book, with editors and authors who are leaders in Faith Community Nursing (FCN) that aims to address contemporary issues in faith-based, whole person, community based health offering cost effective, accessible, patient centered care along the patient continuum while challenging contemporary health policy to include more health promotion services.  

Twenty-five chapters take the reader from a foundational understanding of this historic grass-roots movement to the present day international specialty nursing practice. The book is structured into five sections that describe both the historical advancement of the Faith Community Nursing, its current implications and future challenges, taking into account the perspectives of the pastor, congregation, nurse, health care system and public health national and international organizations. 

The benefits of this book are that it is intended for a mixed audience including lay, academic, medical professionals or health care executives. By changing the mindset of the reader to see the nurse as more than providing illness care, the faith community as more than a place one goes to on Sunday and health as more than physical, creative alternatives for promoting health emerge through Faith Community Nursing. 

P. Ann Solari-Twadell received her Bachelors of Science degree, her Masters and her Doctorate in Nursing from Loyola University. She received a Masters in Public Administration from Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois. She was employed for twenty-five years at Advocate Health Care in Park Ridge, Illinoisand worked for 10 years in Addiction treatment as Director of Nursing Services for Parkside Lutheran Hospital, a specialty hospital for addicted patients. From 1984-88 she was president of the National Nurses Society on Addictions. For the last fifteen of the twenty-five years Ann held the title Director of The International Parish Nurse Resource Center, Advocate Health Care, Park Ridge. In that capacity she was the editor of “Perspectives on Parish Nursing Practice” a regular publication of the International Parish Nurse Resource Center. Ann also coordinated 15 Annual Granger Westberg Symposium’s on Parish Nursing and the development of a standardized core curriculumfor parish nurses in collaboration with Loyola University Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and Marquette University School of Nursing. This included the preparation of over 65 Faculty to offer the standardized core curriculum in over 70 sites in the United States, Canada and Australia. Ann has co-edited and is a contributing author of the text Parish Nursing: The Developing Practice, Parish Nursing: Promoting Whole Person Health within Faith Communities and Parish Nursing: Development, Education and Administration.  Most recently Ann is employed at Loyola University Chicago in the Marcella Neihoff School of Nursing as Associate Professor of Nursing, tenured and Director, Global Experiences and International Studies. She has recently stepped down from the position as Director, Accelerated Nursing Program. Ann is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. 

Deborah Ziebarth received her Associate Degree of Nursing at Milwaukee Area Technical College, aBaccalaureate of Science degree in Nursing and her Masters of Science degree in Nursing with a focus in Nursing Education at Cardinal Stitch University. She received a Philosophy Doctorate in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. She is board certified in Faith Community Nursing, which is her content area of expertise with more than twenty-two years in practice, supervision, education, and now research. Her explorations in this area have provided the theories of “Faith Community Nursing” and “Wholistic Health”. In addition, she has published 15 research articles, 13 non-research articles, self-help books, and book chapters all pertaining to community health. Dr. Ziebarth has more than 20 poster or podium presentations at national and international conferences. Her most recent poster was presented at the 2017 APHA international conference, which focused on faith community nurses facilitating transitional care – from hospital to home, using a mixed methodology. She servesas a Research Consultant for the Westberg Institute for Faith Community Nursing at the Church Health Center and has authored several Practice Statements for them. Other areas of clinical experience are critical care and global health. Dr. Ziebarth has taught Research, Community Health, and Global Health in various nursing programs and is currently the Nursing Department Chair for the Herzing University Baccalaureate of Science program, Brookfield, Wisconsin.