Patti Robillard
Patti Robillard was excited about the opportunity to incorporate her faith into her nursing practice and to have the opportunity to treat the whole person—body, mind, and spirit. She has always been inspired by Mother Theresa who said, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” Working as a parish nurse at St. Mark’s allows her to make a small difference as part of their healing ministry.
Patti started her ministry as the parish nurse for St. Mark the Evangelist Church on May 11, 2004. A parish nurse is a registered nurse practising within a faith community in collaboration with other members of the pastoral team.
As a parish nurse, Patti brings specialized knowledge in community health and theology or pastoral care and is called to ministry and affirmed by a faith community to promote health, healing, and wholeness (body, mind, and spirit). She is supported in this ministry at St. Mark’s by the priest, Roger Steinke, and by a dedicated health committee made up of volunteers, many of whom have a background in the health care field.
Patti graduated from the University of Ottawa School of Nursing in 1986. For most of her 19 years of nursing she has worked in community health, including positions at the VON, the Ottawa Health Department, and four years as parish nurse at St. George Roman Catholic Church in Ottawa. She is also currently employed part-time as a Clinical Instructor for nursing students at the University of Ottawa. She is still an active member of her own parish, Our Lady of the Visitation Church.
“I try to practise what I preach,” Patti says, “so I am an avid runner and cross-country skier. I have been married to Hugh for 17 years and we have three great boys, Andrew (15), Timmy (13), and Adam (11). All three boys play hockey and lacrosse so much of my time is spent at the rink!”
As a parish nurse Patti was hired to do health education, health counselling, advocacy, referrals, and training of volunteers. All of these can be done on an individual basis or in groups, at the church, during home visits, or over the phone. She works at the church for approximately 10 hours each week. A typical week for her at St. Mark’s includes all of these roles, some weeks with more emphasis on one than the others. “No two weeks are the same,” says Patti, “and that is one of the things I like about this ministry.”
Karen King, a former parish nurse at St. Thomas the Apostle Church agrees with Patti’s summation of the job—particularly that no two weeks are the same. “Something that I really appreciated,” she says, “was that specific interests were identified by parishioners, through a needs assessment done at the beginning of my ministry. That allowed me to follow the lead of the parish in order to fulfill my responsibilities to them. One of my favourite jobs was with the pastoral care team, since it showed me the true spirit of the people at St. Thomas' at work, in their efforts to help others.”
Canon Allen Box was one of the prime movers in the introduction of parish nursing to Ottawa. He is also incumbent at All Saints’ Westboro, which has had a parish nurse for the last four years. “ We have benefitted greatly as a parish from the nurse’s keen ability to see life in a holistic way and to bring the skills of nursing combined with a perspective on spirituality into the life of the community. None of the nurses, by the way, have been Anglican—not by design, it just happened that way. Our nurses have each brought tremendous energy in advocacy, in education, and in one-on-one care.”
Patti’s first year at St. Mark’s has included sessions on “Successful Aging,” blood pressure screening, “Coping with Stress,” “Care for the Caregiver,” and strength training. One of the things she has enjoyed most about working at St. Mark’s is the large number of very active members at this church who are very interested in staying healthy and remaining active. This has resulted in a great turnout at all our health education sessions so far.
Health counselling can include simple health advice—for example, where to go for homemaking help—or it can be more supportive for people who are going through very stressful situations. This is often done over the phone, but parish nurses also do home visits most weeks to those who can’t get out, or for those for whom a home visit would be more helpful.
“Often I pray with people,” says Patti. “Advocacy and referral roles often come into play for people I provide with health counselling. Sometimes it is a matter of making calls for information for someone who is too overwhelmed to do it.”
Allen Box adds, “Regular participation in weekly staff meetings has enabled us to provided a deeper and better informed ministry of pastoral care than had been the case when depending only on our training as priests. This has brought a tremendous enrichment to our life.”
Anyone interested in finding out more about parish nursing may contact: