Essentia , Northern Waters Parish Nurse Ministry celebrate 20 years of partnering

Northern Waters Parish Nurse Ministry (NWPNM) was incorporated in 2001, and since then has partnered with Essentia Health to serve its mission of compassionately supporting and educating faith community nurses and faith communities.

Registered nurses in the parish are highly skilled, volunteer and faith-filled. They are passionate about promoting wholistic health of the mind, body and spirit. In addition to providing end-of-life and grief support, parish nurses conduct wellness checks and connect community members to valuable resources such as physical and mental health care, food access, wellness programs, housing and medical information. They make a difference at a grassroots level in our communities and are trusted, beloved friends and neighbors.

“Northern Waters Parish Nurse Ministry’s values are rooted in principles of faith, compassionate care, supporting professionalism and nurturing community,” said Kim Pearson, administrator at Essentia Health’s St. Mary’s Hospital-Superior. “Their values and deeply impactful work align with Essentia Health’s mission and values, and we are thrilled to continue our support with an $18,000 grant.”

Added Lyndi Sakuray, executive director of Northern Waters Parish Nurse Ministry: “That support is essential to our ability to continue serving community members in Superior and greater Douglas County. We exist to serve, and we do that with the bulk of our business overhead covered by this grant, so our in-house fundraising directly supports our mission initiatives.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NWPNM’s focus shifted toward education and awareness and, additionally, aiding vaccination efforts in 2020 and 2021. This year, NWPNM volunteers worked over 200 hours assisting Douglas County vaccination clinics as vaccinators, greeters and Spanish translators.