Page 9 - Faith Community Health 2018 Impact Report

Local area updates Bell County
With almost 350,000 persons residing in Bell County, it has become an area that is ripe for our Faith Community Health program. We have been very blessed by faith communities in this area and hope that we continue to bless individuals we serve. We have experienced much growth since the program first began. Beginning in the Temple area, we have now branched out in greater ways to include the Belton, Little River, Academy, Harker Heights, Nolanville and Killeen areas. We have been hard at work in Bell County, currently partnering with about 15 area churches and medical organizations (outside of Baylor Scott & White) and we continue to expand that partnership with others. Training for Faith Community Caregivers continues to move forward. To date, we have almost 70 FCH volunteer caregivers who have participated and completed their training. Due to the active involvement
of patients and volunteer caregivers in the program, Faith Community Health in Bell County found it necessary to expand its leadership team. We have done so by adding a Connector, and most recently, a part-time on-site FCH Coordinator in Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Temple. We are anxiously looking forward to a new year filled with many more opportunities to offer care and support to people that goes beyond the walls of our hospitals and clinics as we continue in our mission of being a Christian ministry of healing.
We have connected with the Mayborn College of Health Sciences at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) to train nursing students to be Faith Community Caregiver volunteers. We also hope to expand FCH outside of the nursing program and continue to find new ways to work with UMHB.
In our newest area, Nolanville, the faith communities are coming together to learn more about Faith Community Health in a clergy meeting early in 2019. We are also working to help establish a health ministry as part of the faith communities in Nolanville.
Recently, we have made contact with the military community through the Army Volunteer Corps. As we expand our involvement in the community, we can increase community capacity, while at the same time improving all aspects of health, and being a ministry of presence to our community as a whole. A community-wide FCH Training is being scheduled in Killeen for the early 2019.
FAITH COMMUNITY HEALTH 2018 IMPACT REPORT 9