A constituency can be described in general as the population living in a district, state, or region, but it can also be any smaller section of that population, such as individuals or small groups advocating for specific issues. Your “main constituency” usually refers to the people whose needs you feel most strongly about, the people you have the talent/skills to serve, or wish to network with. At HMA members fall under four groups – Faith Community Nursing, Health Ministry, Program Leadership, and  Spiritual Leadership. No matter what your expertise is, it can fall under one of these groups.

You are encouraged to connect with one of our Directors of Constituencies and learn more about their role, the area of practice they represent and how you can get involved!

Faith Community Nursing

HMA Director of Faith Community Nursing: Cari Moodie, RN
email: carijomoodie@gmail.com		 Director for Practice and Education: Amy Armanious, DNP, MSOL, RN
email: armanio.2007@hotmail.com

 

“Faith community nursing is a specialized practice of professional nursing that focuses on the intentional care of the spirit as well as on the promotion of whole-person health and the prevention or minimization of illness within the context of a faith community and the wider community.

Faith Community Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, 3rd Edition, 2017

Opportunities for FCNs in HMA

  • FCN Scope & Standards of Practice Revision
  • Write an article highlighting FCN best practices to be shared with FCN colleagues
  • Write an article for HMA Today or E-Blast
  • Participate in the FCN Mentor Program: serving as either a Mentor or Mentee
  • Present a Workshop or Poster at Annual HMA Conference
  • Network with FCNs in your Region
  • Nominate a colleague for Granger Westberg Leadership in Faith Community Nursing Award

Resources for FCNs

Check out this great video from Advocate Healthcare called “The Spirit of Healing”.  This video reflects just a few ways that Faith Community Nursing restores health and healing.

 
 

Health Ministry

HMA Director for Health Ministry and Spiritual Leadership: Vanessa E. Burks (County), MSW
email: vcounty@bcm.org
 

Health ministers are nutritionists, musicians, artists, healthcare professionals, barbers, stay at home parents, lawyers, accountants and others working at the intersection of faith and health. They can be health navigators, wellness coaches, outreach workers, health educators, health ambassadors, promoters de salud, and health promoters. Health ministers are often part of a health and wellness ministry/team or care and concern ministry in a faith community. They can work alone or with other ministries and/or with faith community nurses to organize, plan, implement and evaluate health ministry activities. Health minister practice is guided by the Health Ministries Association’s “The Health Minister Role: Guidelines and Foundational Curriculum Elements”. This document encompasses common core elements found in various national best practice models for training and educating health ministers.

Opportunities for Health Ministers in HMA

  • Present a Workshop or Poster at Annual HMA Conference
  • Write an article for HMA Today or E-Blast Network with Health Ministers in your Region
  • Nominate a colleague for the Wilkerson-Droege Award

Resources

Program Leadership

HMA Director for Program Leadership: Gail Willingham-Thornton RN, BSN
email: Willingham.Gail@ymail.com
 

Program leaders are persons who lead, support, direct, or coordinate health ministry programs and/or faith community nurse programs in health systems, communities of faith or community settings. The focus of these programs is health promotion and disease prevention. Program leaders provide oversite, direction, resources, mentorship and support to those involved in these programs. The HMA Program Leadership constituent group plays a key role in local and regional health ministry programs. Program leaders are keenly aware of faith and health issues facing their community and develop programs to address those identified issues.

Opportunities for Program Leaders in HMA

  • Participate in HMA Program Leadership Advisory Committee to:
    • Discuss/Share possible funding and available grants
    • Discuss:
      • program leader roles and responsibilities
      • best practice models
    • Discuss sustainability strategies
  • Attend HMA National Conference
    • Constituency Group Meeting
    • Networking
    • Present a Workshop or Poster
  • Write an article for HMA Today, E-Blast, JCN and other publications
  • Nominate a colleague for an HMA Award:
    • Distinguished Faith Community Leader Award
    • Westberg Leadership in Faith Community Nursing Award
    • Norma Small Outstanding Coordinator Award
    • Wilkerson-Droege Award

Resources

Spiritual Leadership

HMA Director for Health Ministry and Spiritual Leadership: Vanessa E. Burks (County), MSW
email: vcounty@bcm.org
 

The Health Ministries Association is “people of faith working together for healthier communities.” Membership is whole-heartedly open to anyone involved in promoting health—spiritual, physical, mental, community—through/with faith communities or faith-based organizations. This naturally includes those serving in spiritual enhancement positions: chaplains in any setting; rabbis, pastors, priests, imams and other local congregational clergy; denominational leaders; religious educators; lay pastoral/congregational leaders. This constituent group is a way for spiritual leaders to network and offer a voice of faith in health-related issues.

Opportunities

The Spiritual Leadership constituent group plays a key role in upholding the faith aspect to our work in promoting health. There are several ways to accomplish this essential role:

Being a Spiritual Presence through HMA:

  • Lead in spiritual aspects in HMA work, e.g., reflections for monthly e-publications, spiritual options in annual HMA conference, etc.
  • Lift up a spiritual perspective and voice on HMA’s behalf regarding local, national, and global challenges and opportunities.
  • Be a spiritual presence for HMA’s leaders and members in their work for whole-person health.

Building HMA Infrastructure:

  • Work to increase presence of congregational clergy, chaplains, and other faith leaders in HMA membership.
  • Develop HMA relationships with professional organizations, such as Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE), American Association of Pastoral Counselors ((AAPC), Network on Ministry in Specialized Settings (COMISS), Association of Professional Chaplains (APC), and Spiritual Directors International (SDI).
  • Develop HMA relationships with denominational leaders of all denominations/faiths. This may be done in conjunction with other HMA constituent groups.

Influencing Our Wider Community:

  • Speak to/influence the preparation and continuing education of congregational clergy for health ministry.
  • Help define the role of clergy in a wholistic health model.

Participants in the Spiritual Leadership constituency group, as members of HMA, gain and give important benefits:

  • Networking and resources to support local health ministry.
  • Connection with spiritual leaders in various settings across the country.
  • An avenue to speak in faith to communal challenges and opportunities.
  • Opportunity to help provide spiritual leadership to the work of HMA.
  • A place to share our expertise, experience, and encouragement to impact our common wholeness.

Together, as the Spiritual Leadership constituent group, we impact the fabric of health and wholeness through our membership in HMA.

Resources