The mission of the Conference Health Team is to promote health and wellness across the lifespan. The health team informs UMC congregations about advocacy, funding, and opportunities for continuing education in health and wellness. We recognize that healthy congregations begin with healthy people.
The NC Conference Health Team assists in providing annual conference attendees with free, brief health screenings. On Thursday, June 13 health screenings are provided for all annual conference attendees by ECU Health. Those enrolled in the conference insurance plan are screened on Friday, June 14 by Quest Diagnostics. The Health Team partners with Shepherd’s Care mobile medical clinic to offer a healthcare provider on Thursday, June 13 and Friday, June 14 during Annual Conference. This service can be accessed by anyone needing medical assistance for a minimal fee.
The Health Team’s annual conference display is focused on raising awareness of the annual church accessibility audit and the need to make our churches accessible to all people, including those who have disabilities. The Health Team also seeks to raise awareness about how churches can help relieve the opioid crisis. Naloxone can be a tool to help save lives in our communities in a similar fashion to the way that our churches carry first aid kits and AED devices. Naloxone is an easy-to-use nasal spray, will not harm someone who it is administered to– whether necessary or not, and can save lives. The annual conference display also features mental health resources and prayer stations.
The Health Team provides monthly updates to the conference through articles about relevant topics like COVID and other respiratory illness precautions, drug harm reduction, and Medicaid expansion. The Health Team is currently prioritizing dementia care ministries and will help launch a new lay servant training on that topic in the fall of 2024. For the last few years, the Health Team has prioritized raising awareness about mental health resources for parishioners and pastors alike.