Brotherly Love Ministry - Parish Nursing
Parish Nurse Hours Kim Vaupel, RN is available from 9:00 am to 10:15 am on Sunday mornings. If she can be of any assistance, please stop by her office in the Library in the Sunday School wing during that time, or call or text her any time at 484-223-7324.
Taking Blood Pressure Readings A new idea is to offer blood pressure screening for members of Grace and the community at the monthly Free Community meal. If you would like to take blood pressures for those attending the Free Community meal (the second Friday of each month from 5 pm to 6:30 pm), please contact Kim Vaupel.
WHERE TO FIND...
The AED (defibrillator) is mounted on the wall by the AED sign. There is an emergency supply kit and a diabetic emergency supply kit on the table next to the pew in the Chapel. If you enter the Chapel from the doorway in the hallway by the sanctuary, the table with the emergency care kits will be on your right. This is a more central location than the previous one in the event of an emergency. When you are next at church, please take a minute to locate the emergency equipment.
First Aid kits are in all restrooms and the Sunday School classroom. There is also a first aid kit in the rear of the sanctuary on a table below the bulletin board, and in the kitchen on the counter in Fellowship Hall (downstairs). Feminine hygiene products are available in all restrooms except for the Men’s restroom in the Sunday School wing.
The Brotherly Love Ministry/Parish Nurse bulletin board is by the front ramp entrance.
April Newsletter
April is National Organ Donation Awareness Month in the United States. It is a time to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation, honor donors and their families, and encourage people to register as potential donors. Over 100,000 people are waiting for organ transplants in the United States. Every 8 minutes, someone is added to the transplant waiting list. To register as an organ donor in Pennsylvania, you can sign up online through the PA Department of Health’s organ donation portal, or at your local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). You can also register through the National Donate Life Registry at RegisterME.org.
If you decide to be an organ donor, please share your decision with your family and friends so they can carry out your wishes when the time comes. Organs can be donated by a living donor or from a deceased donor. The following organs can be donated for transplantation - kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas, and intestines. In addition, tissue, corneas from the eyes, skin, bone, heart valves and blood vessels are able to be donated. It is important to note that not everyone is eligible to donate organs or tissue. Factors such as age, health conditions and blood type can influence eligibility.
Organ donation has had a personal impact on my family. My mother-in-law, Kathy Vaupel, suffered with rheumatoid arthritis. Many years ago, the medical treatment for this disease was gold shots. These gold shots affected her kidneys, causing kidney failure and placing her on dialysis. She continued to work full time and go to dialysis three times a week. Kathy was placed on the National Transplant List to receive a kidney from a deceased donor. After two years on dialysis, Kathy received a phone call on Memorial Day 2009 that she was a potential match for a kidney transplant. She was told to report to the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia the next day to be tested as the potential recipient of the kidney. Kathy was a PERFECT match! She went to surgery that evening and everything went well. She was discharged home from the hospital that same week, and was able to continue working full time until the time of her retirement. Kathy’s kidney donor was a 21-year-old man from Nashville, TN who died in a motorcycle accident during Memorial Day weekend. His family agreed to donate several of his organs to help those on the transplant list. This family blessed Kathy with a special gift - the gift of life! Kathy was so grateful every day for this special gift that allowed her to enjoy life until the day of her death on June 16, 2017. Every Memorial Day since Kathy received the kidney transplant, our family has a moment of silence and says a prayer for the donor family who are reminded every year of their loss during this holiday weekend.
My mother, Lynell Sterner, died on October 29, 2012 following a lengthy illness. Following her death, I received a phone call at 1:30 am from the Gift of Life Program asking about donating my mother’s organs. Later it was determined that due to her illness, her organs were not able to be donated, but the corneas from her eyes could be donated. My mom and I never talked about organ donation because of her health issues. But she knew the impact that Kathy’s kidney transplant had on her life, and I knew she would like to have her corneas help someone see the world more clearly. I agreed to donate my mom’s corneas to the Gift of Life Program.
Every year the Gift of Life Program hosts a reception to honor donor families and transplant recipients. My brother, my husband and I attended the reception that was held at Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Macungie. I was asked to submit photos of my mom that were presented as part of a slide show of all the donors. Transplant recipients spoke to express their gratitude to donor families and shared stories about the impact organ donation has had on their lives. It was an emotional Sunday and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room!
Organ donation impacted my family, and it can impact your family too. Please take time to think about your wishes regarding organ donation and discuss them with your loved ones. Register to be an Organ Donor- there is no better gift to give someone than the “Gift of Life.”
May peace and good health be with all of you!
Kim Vaupel, RN
History: In September 2023, a new ministry was started at Grace Lutheran Church. The goal of this ministry is to promote the health, wellness and safety of the members of Grace and the community. Brotherly Love Ministry was named in honor of my brother Leonard Sterner, Jr. who passed away unexpectedly in September 2019. Since my brother was proud that his sister was a nurse, I have decided to use the memorial donations given to Grace in his name to start this parish nursing ministry. This memorial fund was used to pay for the classes I needed to take in order to obtain a certification in faith community/parish nursing, and also to attend a lay eucharistic communion class. After this, I will be available to assist Pastor Samantha with visiting the homebound and ill of the congregation. I will also be a resource to the congregation to answer any medical questions and offer support to the congregation as needed.
Next I will be updating the church first aid kits, and will create a kit for use in case of a medical emergency which will include a blood pressure cuff, a glucometer to check blood sugars, snacks to treat low blood sugar, and a pulse oximeter to check oxygen levels. I am also asking for anyone certified in CPR to contact me at the number below, as I will be creating a list of those members certified in CPR. I plan to coordinate a one-hour class taught by the Macungie Ambulance team to teach “hands on CPR for the community” to anyone interested in learning this skill.
On a monthly basis, I will be speaking to the congregation about how to prepare in the event of medical emergencies, fire emergencies and gun violence emergencies. My goal is to raise awareness and prepare the congregation for these different emergency situations, and be available to the members of Grace as your parish nurse. I look forward to sharing information with all of you in my monthly newsletter column in the Grace Notes monthly newsletter, and here on this website.
Peace be with all of you!
Kim Vaupel, RN
