IFN members also now benefit from the no-cost services of a Faith Community Nurse.

The Nurse can only provide help by Telephone at this time

 in keeping with the COVID-19 Precautions at IFN. 

To serve IFN members

 through the integration of faith and health care

within the context of a Mosque Community

Please note: This role does not include treatments or hands-on care.

• IFN Faith Community Nurse (FCN) Sr. Nancy may be reached by phone call or text at 847-239-4077
• Please do not text any private medical details
• If Sr. Nancy doesn’t pick up, please leave your name, number and the general reason for your call. Contacts will be returned within one business day
• Faith Community Nurses are bound by privacy and professional conductunder the auspices of their RN license
• The Mosque-Community based Nursing services supplement your current health services and are available to any IFN member in need, at no-cost to you or to IFN:

* Health Education
*Personal Health Counseling
*Health Advocacy
*Referrals
*Integrating Islamic Practices into Health Decision Making

If you are not a member, please contact the IFN office at 847-406-3730                                                           to request confidential financial assistance to become an IFN member and receive services 

  

***For Emergency needs please call 911 or proceed to the Emergency Department of your nearest Hospital.

This part time pilot position is in partnership with CIOGC

and made possible in part by a grant from AdvocateAurora Health System

                         ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

IFN Health Committee Leads: Dr. Fehmida Khan, Sadia Thiryayi & Nancy Romanchek

• The IFN Health Committee Steering Team will work closely with Imam Afzar to align faith-based segments, and with President Answer, and the EC.  
  
• In order to prevent the duplication of efforts and to promote working together for the pleasure of Allah, IFN Health Committee work group projects will be conducted in collaboration with active IFN committees whenever possible
• Additional independent priority projects for the coming year will be based upon the IFN Community Health Assessment findings presented to the community in January and February of 2020. 
  
• If you are interested in joining the Health Committee, please Email Nancy at nromanchek@gmail.com with “Request to join the IFN Health Committee” in the subject line.

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Faith Community Nursing at IFN 

Mission: Integrate whole person care by serving the IFN Mosque community and individual members with no cost services. 

Vision: To Build a Healthy & Resilient Muslim Community,  One Mosque at a Time.

Goals:

• The protection, promotion and optimization of health
• The prevention of illness and injury
• Facilitation of health
• Alleviation of suffering.

What is Faith Community Nursing? Faith Community Nursing is a specialized practice of professional nursing recognized by the American Nurses Association that focuses on whole-person health and the prevention or minimization of illness within the context of a faith community and the wider community. The Faith Community Nurse is a registered professional who is actively licensed in her state of practice and who serves as a member of the staff of a Faith Community. She practices under a professionally recognized Scope and Standards of Practice promoting whole person care and serving the community based upon her assessment of the unique needs of that community. Faith Community Nursing has historic roots in Chicago. Faith Community Nursing began in 1973 by Dr. Granger Westberg in Hindsdale, IL. Dr. Westberg observed patient and interdisciplinary team dynamics and realized the value of placing a nurse in a faith community. In 1983, Dr. Westberg developed the Parish Nurse model of care and by 1985, Lutheran General Hospital, which is now AdvocateAurora, sponsored the first Faith Community Nurse program with paid nurses in six area churches. Today there are over 15,000 Registered Nurses practicing in the role of Faith Community Nurse in the United States, Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, England, Ghana, India, Kenya, Korea, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Palestine, Pakistan, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Swaziland, Ukraine, Wales, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Bio: Nancy Romanchek, BSN, RN, CHPN, MPH  Nancy is passionate about introducing the concept of Community Health through Faith Community Nursing practice within the context of a Mosque community; assisting Muslims to integrate their faith beliefs and their health decisions and practices. She has several years of experience as a Parish Nurse in the Roman Catholic Church in rural Wisconsin. An active Faith Community Nurse in the AdvocateAurora Health System Network since 2015, with training in Faith Community Nursing from Marquette University, Nancy attended the Loyola University of Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing for her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and has over 3 decades of Nursing Experience. She has a Master’s in Public Health with a certificate in Health Education and Health Promotion from Benedictine University, and has engaged in numerous projects in the Muslim community including initiating a partnership with the Lutheran School of Theology Center for Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice, to provide workshops to Chaplains around the Chicago area to prepare them to minister to their Muslim patients in the hospital, hospice and home care settings.