Faith community/parish nursing in Colorado.

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Faith community nursing practice and connection with the IPNRC started in 1989 when Penrose-St. Francis Health Services of Colorado Springs began offering a year of Clinical Pastoral Education to nurses to help prepare them for practice in faith communities. The first nurses to graduate from the clinical pastoral education residency began offering orientation to faith community nursing in 1993.

As faith community nursing became known, the number of nurses in ministry grew. By 1996 there were support groups formed for the faith community nurses in Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Denver. The Fort Collins network incorporated as a nonprofit organization, Rocky Mountain Parish Health Ministry (RMPHM), in 2002.

The Colorado Parish Nurse Education Consortium was formed in 1999 to provide the curriculum developed through the IPNRC. Consortium partners included the University of Colorado Health Sciences School of Nursing, Penrose-St. Francis Health Services, Rocky Mountain Parish Health Ministry, and Augustana Lutheran Church. The consortium has provided education to 156 nurses since 1999 through an annual retreat.

In 2010 RMPHM become a statewide organization which provides networking, support, and education to all regions of Colorado. These regions now include the Fort Collins/Loveland area, the Denver/Golden area, southern Colorado in Colorado Springs, and a newly forming region in Grand Junction.

The Colorado Parish Nurse Education Consortium joined with the RMPHM in 2010 when it became a state-wide organization.

Contact information for the

Colorado regions include:

Fort Collins/Loveland: Virginia Allison

gallisonrn@comcast.net

Denver/Golden: Pat Holland

phollandco@comcast.net

Colorado Springs: Mary Jo Bay

maryjobay@gmail.com

Visit the website of Rocky Mountain Parish Health Ministry at www.rmphm.org

Grand Junction: Elaine Taylor etrnccm@gmail.com