Logan County community positively impacted through the efforts of two faith community nurses

Establishing close relationships with individuals in the same area can increase the overall health and stability of the community, and faith community nursing (FCN) closely impacts the communities in which its nurses assist with both nursing and spiritual care.

In Logan County, two WVU School of Nursing-trained faith community nurses, Keri Workman and Shatika Jones, have established community groups through their local church to foster these relationships.

In 2024, Workman and Jones established a health ministry at their local church, West Logan Church. They started their annual “Grief Share,” where community members are encouraged to come together to support the loss of loved ones. With CPR instructor certifications through the AHA, they also offer CPR classes at an affordable cost to their community.

Additionally, they provide CPR and First Aid education to school-aged children and community members. With the “Cardiac Emergency Response Team” they created, Workman and Jones give their congregants and students safe and accessible emergency equipment. With grant money, they were additionally able to place AEDs and water stations in their local church and schools. They have affiliations with American Heart Association, Red Cross, Logan Healthcare Foundation, Grief Share, and Faith Health Appalachia.

“The faith community nurse focuses on the individual as a whole being,” Workman said. “It removes the number on the door of the hospital room or the time of the appointment on the clinic schedule and gives the patient back their name and identity. This work has been extremely rewarding for us and has become another method to minister to people the love of Jesus as well as meeting needs otherwise would have never been possible.”

Workman and Jones are currently working on providing community education classes on various health-related conditions, monthly CPR and First Aid classes, equipping WL Homeschool staff with CPR certifications, and grief share. Their overall goal is to bring awareness, unity, and motivate people towards holistic health.

”The work that Keri and Shatika are doing in their communities speaks to the importance of community insiders leading these efforts,” said Dr. Angel Smothers, Associate Dean for Community Engagement at the WVU School of Nursing.

Funding for this work has been made possible through the Pallottine Foundation of Huntington. If a nurse is interested in taking the training, please feel free to reach out to Dr. Smothers at asmothers@hsc.wvu.edu. Scholarship support is available for nurses in counties supported by this foundation.

-WVU-

sm/9/9/2026

MEDIA CONTACT:
Wendy Holdren
Director of Communications and Marketing
WVU School of Nursing
304-581-1772; wendy.holdren@hsc.wvu.edu