The Parish Nurse Ministries of NY, Inc., an NYS Non-For-Profit organization, is governed by an Executive Board. The Executive Board/Board of Directors is elected by the members during the annual meeting each June. The Executive Board members are in good standing within the organization and have completed the Foundations of Faith Community Nursing course.
Yvonne Askew, MSN, Ed., RN-BC
Faith Community Nurse
Office
Co-President 2024-25
Background
Yvonne has been involved in direct patient care in a variety of specializations for over 30 years, including spinal cord/rehab medicine, ICU (Trauma, Burn, Medical and Cardiac), and Cardio-Thoracic. She is now the coordinator of the Faith Community Nursing program for Catholic Health-Buffalo, with the responsibility of leading Catholic Health’s initiative to assist any interested, established faith denomination/organization in the process of building a health ministry that is reflective of their practice and beliefs. She was the lead research investigator and co-author of three articles evaluating the practice of Faith Community Nursing in a primary care practice. She received her Faith Community Nurse board certification, by portfolio, in 2017.
Yvonne has served as resource room coordinator, two-term past president for the Parish Nurse Ministries of New York Inc. and now serves as lead faculty educator for our “Foundations of Faith Community Nursing” curriculum.
Professional Memberships
Yvonne is a member of the American Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society, Faculty of Westberg Institute of Faith Community Nursing, and Parish Nurse Ministries of New York Inc.
Community Affiliations
N.E.W.S. Task Force – where she serves as a member of their Board of Directors and as their treasurer, Urban Christian Ministries where she serves as their summer resident camp “Camp Nurse” and NYS DOH/Faith Communities Project.
Education
Yvonne received her master’s in nursing education from Walden University in 2009
Carol Mather, MSN, RN
Faith Community Nurse
Office
Co-President 2024-2025
Background
Carol has been involved in patient care for 44 years, starting on the medical floor and the ICU. The past
38 years in home health care, 30 of those years as Clinical Manager. This sparked an interest in becoming a Faith Community Nurse. In 2014 Carol took the Foundations of Faith Community Nursing
to become an FCN. She became the FCN at her parish, St. Benedict’s R.C. where she was active in other
parish ministries. From 2015 to 2022 Carol was PNMNY’s Spiritual Coordinator providing prayer and
support to its members in times of wellness and illness (body and soul) and offering retreats. In the
past 2 years, she has assisted in teaching for the Foundations of Faith Nursing.
Education
Carol received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from D’Youville College, Buffalo, NY in 1980.
She received her Master of Arts in Theology from Christ the King Seminary, East Aurora, NY in 1997.
Sherry H. Pomeroy, Ph.D., RN
Faith Community Nurse
Office
Secretary 2024-2025
Background
Sherry specializes in community-based gerontology, long-term care, palliative care, health behavior change, and spiritual care of individuals and families. She has widely published and presented in her areas of research, including as co-author of three recent articles about Faith Community Nursing. Sherry completed the Foundations of Faith Community Nursing course in 2015 through the PNMNY. She served as Co-President of PNMNY for two previous years, as well as Secretary for several terms. Sherry recently retired as the FCN at Orchard Park Presbyterian Church, Orchard Park, NY, where she was also the staff liaison to the OPPC Health Ministry Team and coordinated a monthly social day respite program for persons living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. Sherry is a certified Powerful Tools for Caregivers Leader. She is also a Respecting Choices – First Steps ACP Certified Instructor/Facilitator, an evidence-based system for person-centered decision-making related to advanced care planning. Sherry is a reviewer for several peer-reviewed nursing journals. She is also Emerita faculty at the University at Buffalo, School of Nursing.
Professional Memberships
Sherry is a member of PNMNY, the Gerontological Society of America, and Sigma Theta Tau.
Education
Sherry received her B.S. degree in nursing from Alfred University (Alfred, NY), her M.S. in community health nursing from the University of Rochester (Rochester, NY), and her Ph.D. in nursing with a major in gerontology and cognate minors in sociology and exercise science from the University of Missouri, Columbia (Columbia, MO).
Sue Gagne, RN
Faith Community Nurse
Office
Treasurer 2024-2025
Lucinda Phillips RN, MSN
Faith Community Nurse
Office
Spiritual Coordinator /Executive Board Member 2024-2025