By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

People gathering up reading material in a doctor’s office expect to come away with health tips but the article on bone health in the Aug. 17 issue of the St. Dominic Parish bulletin may have caught some summer visitors by pleasant surprise.

Written by registered nurse Aine Lynch-Powers, the article made good reading for those interested in keeping their skeletons good shape. Lynch-Powers’ health tips are one of the bulletin items St. Dominic churchgoers look forward to.

A member of the Brick parish for seven years and director of the Health and Wellness Ministry for the past six, Lynch-Powers says the bulletin articles focus on a wide range of health-related subjects, running the gamut from life directives to Alzheimers to caring for caregivers, and are a good way to keep people aware that the ministry is there for them.

The ministry was founded in 1999 with parish nursing in mind by Marianite of Holy Cross Sister Sylvia Asselin. When she retired about six years ago, she asked Lynch-Powers, a nurse with a range of experience in many fields including coronary care, home health care and adult protective services, to take over the Health and Wellness Ministry.

Lynch-Powers, who describes herself as “wearing many hats” in the nursing field, including professor in the William Patterson College nursing program for 10 years, said she was happy to take this new challenge on.

She saw it as a way to keep a pulse, so to speak, on the needs of the community of more than 5,000 families.

From educational offerings to regularly scheduled blood pressure screenings and special screenings such as the “Lifeline” screening for vascular health, Lynch-Powers said the parish is always striving to reach out to the community.

She also mentioned the program’s hospital visits and follow up home visits by the 12 to 15 parish nurses who volunteer their time and skill to the second ministry she oversees, which is called Friendly Visitors.

“We focus on visiting those who are homebound and when people go to the hospital, one of the nurses – who are also Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist – will visit them there. There are follow up visits in the homes.” Very often, she said, the Health and Wellness Ministry and the Friendly Visitors are the means of keeping them from going back into the hospital.

“Sometimes they need Meals on Wheels and we help arrange that or see to it that they are equipped with lifeline buttons to alert emergency workers of an emergency. … We help with getting them home health aides, making sure they are safe in their homes, diet and nutrition.”

She sees the parish as an advocate for their members where healthcare is concerned and credits Msgr. James J. Brady, pastor, for the support and insight that has made this ministry possible.

“He’s totally supportive of what we do and especially concerned that we be there for those who don’t have anyone else to turn to. “A lot of elderly don’t have family and we’ve been able to catch things before they become a crisis.”

The overall effort, from home and hospital visits to educational programs for the community, to screenings, to spiritual support, is reassuring, she said. People “love the idea,” she said, that the Church is involved and cares for them.