Parish Nurse Stories - Cheri Brown

I met Cheri downtown Billings, Montana on a bright sunny June day. She was just pulling in to do her weekly outreach at St. Vincent de Paul Society. St. Vincent de Paul is a downtown mission site that reaches out to those in need of food, clothing, rent, material goods, as well as physical and mental health issues, and emotional and spiritual struggles. We entered the lobby area filled with folks there to receive food, help and fellowship.

As we went to the back office we were greeted by volunteers sorting and carrying in food that had just come in from the local food bank. People were excited about a good shipment of grapefruit as opposed to other food they have received that is spoiled and of no use. Folks come to sit in the lobby to have donuts and coffee and Cheri is concerned that they also get juice and healthy snacks. There are older folks and children and parents, people of all ages and kinds. Cheri goes to the lobby and asks, "Would anyone like their blood pressure checked?"

Cheri Brown at St. Vincent de Paul

Helping out at the food bank

Cheri with Client

An older woman with a sunburned face comes back and Cheri greets her with a hug. "Good to see you!" Cheri says, "How are you doing?" The mood is loving and friendly as Cheri takes her blood pressure and hears her story. She encourages her to see her doctor and check in as her blood pressure is running quite high. Cheri reassures her that she can come back here to check in any Tuesday and I get the feeling that is a just what this woman really needs to hear.

Cheri’s next visitor is a young Indian man, stricken with diabetes and in poor health. After visiting, she assesses he is basically on the streets. He would like her to contact his brother for him and Cheri tries to make the connection for him. He is gone before she can make the call and she hopes he will feel safe to come in again to see her, in the meantime, he is added to her personal prayer list. It is a challenge for follow-up here, because homes and lives are tenuous. No wallet, no ID, no money, no clothes, no home….

Cheri also works with the staff. She is monitoring one of the employee’s blood pressure and health status. It is a challenge for this staff member to maintain her health in a very stressful environment. This staff member has to make the difficult decisions of apportioning out the limited funds and resources to those in need and it takes its toll on her. Cheri is a listening post for her.

The June 2000 newsletter for the St. Vincent de Paul Society has a column titled, "From the Director’s Desk." Director Harold Merchant tells that several months ago he had become aware of the Parish Nurse Program in Billings and after hearing the description of the role of parish nursing, he felt his program could use a parish nurse and asked for a volunteer from the Billings group of parish nurses. Here is what he writes about what happened:

Cheri listening to staff concerns

Cheri with Director Harold Merchant

About a week later, I received a call that CHERI BROWN had volunteered to come in on Tuesday mornings to visit with those having coffee and rolls, or those in our waiting area.

Over the weeks, Cheri had developed a rapport with many of the regulars. She checks their blood pressure, visits with them about their health habits, listens to their stories, and sometimes helps them set an appointment with their doctor, dentist, or the Deering Clinic for health issues.

A few weeks ago, Cheri was putting information on the bulletin board in our waiting area when a lady had what appeared to be a seizure, and fell, unconscious, unable to breath. As the receptionist dialed 911, Cheri was able to get the lady, one of our regulars, breathing again. She was still unconscious when the ambulance rushed her to the hospital. This story does have a happy ending. The lady returned the next day thanking us for saving her. She did remember coming here, and then waking up in the hospital. She said her doctor had changed her insulin dosage, and because she had not eaten and had not checked her blood sugar level before she came in, her sugar level had dropped too low, causing her problem. The next Tuesday she had a nice visit with Cheri who helped her better understand how to deal with diabetes. God does provide angels!