Princeton nurse launches faith-based screening and outreach program

PRINCETON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Mercer County registered nurse Tera Dillow has launched a new health screening and outreach program within Princeton’s Johnston Chapel Baptist Church community.

Dillow brings 25 years of experience having lived and worked in the Mercer County area and has completed the West Virginia University School of Nursing’s Foundations in Faith Community Nursing Course as a means of additionally reinforcing her abilities and capacity for effective outreach.

A national training program intended to prepare nurses with the tools necessary to establish access to care points throughout the Mountain State, the Foundations of Faith Community Nursing course is a notable networking and health service resource in West Virginia.

“This program supports nurses in creating vital connections and providing essential health services within their communities,” says West Virginia University School of Nursing Associate Dean for Community Engagement, Dr. Angel Smothers.

Dillow herself noted the significance of outreach, proactive health measures, and health screening in the medical field, two areas on which she intends to emphasize through the new faith-based program.

“Screening and outreach will be the focus of the work we are doing here in Mercer County,” she said.

Having first met in a health-related program at the Mercer County Technical Education Center while still students in high school, Dillow and Smothers would go on to attends Bluefield State University alongside one another. The two have now come together once more in an effort to improve rural community health through the recently launched program.

The Faith Community Nursing Training Program serves to emphasize the substantial role of faith-based community nursing professionals in the improvement of public health. The program also serves to reinforce the commitment of West Virginia University to the fostering of engagement among members of the community and access to healthcare and medical services around West Virginia.

West Virginia University School of Nursing alumni Natalie Bush provided funding to help make the program possible. This funding was awarded by way of the nonprofit organization, WVU Foundation, which administers and accepts private donations on the university’s behalf.