Brotherly Love Ministry - Parish Nursing
Parish Nurse Office Hours Regular parish nurse office hours are from 9 am to 10:15 am every Sunday, September through May. Please feel free to stop by during this time to talk, or I am available by phone call or text as needed. If I can be of assistance to you, please contact me at 484-223-7324.
The Brotherly Love Ministry Committee will have its quarterly meeting on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at 6 pm in the Chapel. All are welcome to attend!
Taking Blood Pressure Readings We would like to 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.
MARCH UPDATE
Give the Gift of Life
Blood is an essential body fluid that constantly flows to keep the body working. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to tissues throughout the body, protects from infections, removes unneeded waste products from the body, regulates body temperature and blood pressure, and stops bleeding when an injury happens. Blood is made up of plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Plasma is the liquid part that carries blood cells throughout the body. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body’s cells. White blood cells fight infections. Platelets form blood clots to help stop bleeding when injured. The average adult male has about 12 pints of blood. The average female has about 9 pints of blood. Blood makes up about 8% of body weight.
There are 4 different blood types: O, A, B and AB. These blood types are paired with an Rh factor, where (+) indicates presence of a specific protein and (-) indicates absence of the protein. The most common blood type is O+. Another common blood type is A+. The less blood types are B+, O-, A-, AB+, B- and AB-. Knowing your blood type is important for your own health and for the health of others.
Blood transfusions are life-saving procedures to replenish blood components lost during severe injury, surgery, cancer treatments, and bleeding disorders. Donating blood at a local blood collection center can save up to three lives from a single blood donation. In fact, someone in the US needs a blood transfusion every two seconds! Regular blood donations are crucial for maintaining an adequate, safe blood supply to local hospitals. There is always a crucial need for donors of ALL blood types. The lowest occurrence of blood donation is during the winter, due to the weather and illness.
The summer months also see decreased blood donations. Less than 3% of age-eligible people donate blood yearly.
General requirements to being a blood donor include being at least age 16- 17 years old, a minimum weight 110 pounds, in good health and feeling well, and being hydrated on the day of the blood donation. The blood donating process takes 1 to 2 hours depending on the type of blood donation: your local blood donation center has options to donate whole blood, platelets, or plasma. Whole blood can be donated once every 56 days (8 weeks), platelets every 7 days (up to 24 times per year), and plasma every 28 days. The blood donation center can inform you how much time each donation takes, so you can schedule one that best fits your time schedule. The blood donation center can also answer any blood donation process questions you may have.
Donating blood may be something new for you and might make you feel nervous at first, but remember, that a part of YOU will be saving the lives of people in your community! Please consider contacting one of our local blood donation centers – the Miller-Keystone Blood Center or the American Red Cross – to schedule an appointment to donate blood and help those in need during 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
