Foundations of Faith Community Nursing and Health Ministry Course Registration is OPEN!
This has been a busy spring and we have loved meeting so many new faces and learning about how faith community nursing is drawing you in! Our Foundations of Faith Community Nursing Course registration is OPEN. We have scholarships for local nurses (Linn, Benton, and Lincoln Counties), so contact us at faithcommunityhealthnetwork@gmail.com if you are local and would like to attend with a scholarship. Cost without a scholarship is $400 and includes three books and contact hours. You can register from our Foundations of Faith Community Nursing and Health Ministry Course website landing page, linked here.
Faith Community Nursing Advocacy and Community Engagement
Deb Fell-Carlson, BSN, RN, MSPH, FCHN Executive Director, co-presented with Deb Ziebarth, PhD, MSN Ed, BC-RN at the virtual Westberg International Symposium on Faith Community Nursing in April, 2026. The session covered the newly developed Westberg Institute Position Statement on Compensation and an update on what is happening related to compensation in Oregon. Most faith community nurses serve pro-bono, regardless of setting, and we hope to help change that. Many of you are aware that rulemaking is underway to support the recent passage of Oregon House Bill 2789 that will allow registered nurses to bill Medicaid for nursing services on a limited basis. The summary of OAR 410-130-0800 – Care management services is “Establishes registered nurses as an enrolled provider type for care management services.” You can sign up to receive rulemaking updates here.
The FCHN team hosted a display at the Oregon State University Gerontology Conference on April 23, 2026. The sessions were terrific, and, as always, we also learned a great deal from the other exhibitors. Susan Freeman, Health Minister, Jill Harwell, MSN, BA, RN, Tiffany Wadlow, BSN, RN, MA, Min, and Deb Fell-Carlson, BSN, RN, MSPH were all in attendance to learn and help spread the word about Faith Community Nursing in Oregon.
Deb Fell-Carlson presented with Marcy Shanks, MSN, MSEd, RN at the virtual Forum on Rural Population Health, in May, 2026. The session title was “Integrating healthcare into housing: a preliminary look at the impact of embedded nursing on well-being and care coordination” and summarized what we have learned thus far from our “GardenView project.”
FCHN presented a poster about the GardenView project at the Oregon Nurses Association Convention in Eugene in May. Tawni Pfaff, BSN, RN, has been a consistent anchor at the GardenView Health Resource Center for two hours twice a month since we opened it in January, 2025. FCHN was awarded a grant from the Intercommunity Health Network Coordinated Care Organization Delivery Systems Transformation to try this new idea, and it has been transformative!
June meeting will be in PERSON!
We have not had a face-to-face meeting for quite some time and we look forward to gathering for networking, food, and fellowship on June 25, 2026 at 5p in Lebanon, OR. Please email us at contactfchn@gmail.com to be added to the notification list!
Social Media
Libby Jorgensen recently joined the FCHN Board as a Student Intern. She will be helping with social media and some behind the scenes projects this summer. Follow us on both Facebook and Instagram! You can read about Libby on our About page.
