Connections Quarterly

Health and Wellness Education and Training At the request of many congregations, we will offer again this year a 10 session training, Lay School of Pastoral Care, which focuses on ministry with shut-ins and patients. In collaboration with Illinois Heart Rescue, we will offer a hands-only CPR training. To prepare and equip congregations on emergency preparedness, plans are underway to offer an Emergency Preparedness and Response training. We are also planning as series of lectures on hospice/palliative care, organ donation, stroke, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s/dementia.

Ministry with Veterans In partnership with Lake County Veteran and Family Services Foundation, Military Outreach USA, and VA Hospital we plan to offer a series of events at our hospitals. This includes, Pastoral Care and Ministry with Veterans and their Families symposium for Chaplains; conference on Spiritual Care to Veterans for clergy and laity; and seminar on PTSD and Moral Injury. In the fall we will start a campaign to collect new winter coats and sleeping bags and distribute them to area Veteran organizations. In addition we will organize a Community Veterans Resource Fair and a Veterans Job and Health Fair.

Mental Health In collaboration with mental health providers we will be offering a day long Mental Health First Aid training (first of this training will be offered on April 2 at Advocate Condell Medical Center, because of the overwhelming response, we plan to add another day of training), and a day long Youth Mental Health First Aid. In addition we intend to offer a Suicide Prevention training.

Opioid and Heroin Addiction In partnership with county health departments we plan to offer a series of education and training events on underage drinking, opioid addiction, and preventing heroin addiction. In addition, though-out the year we will bring to you programs and services which will be of benefit to the health and wellness of your congregants.

Through these pages we will inform you about the upcoming events. We believe, all of us working together could save lives and build a healthier faith community.

For additional information on any of the programs or to recommend additional programs, please contact Chaplain Suzanne (Sam) Martinez at [email protected].

God bless you.