FERRIDAY — Danny Wisner doesn’t consider himself a pioneer, just someone who is trying to do the Lord’s work in a practical manner.

But Wisner, a licensed practical nurse who works in the emergency room at Riverland Medical Center, is the first of what will be a five- to seven-person team of chaplains employed by the hospital.

And Wisner, who has split time in the past between pastoring churches and working as a nurse, said he’s looking forward to doing more than just meeting a patient’s physical needs. Even though the chaplain program has yet to officially kick off, Wisner is already helping lay its ground work.

“We’ve always tried to pray with people who wanted to pray,” Wisner said. “I’ve never had anyone turn me down (to pray with them). The response has always been, ‘Yeah, I need prayer.’ The people in our community love the Lord and realize their need for God.”

Respiratory therapist Dana Nelson, who is coordinating the chaplain program, said God gave her a vision to start a chaplain program that would minister to patients and help unite the community. Several pastors from multiple denominations are in the process of getting approved as Riverland employees, and Nelson said she’s hopeful they can start within three weeks.

“Once the chaplains are on board, we’ll be meeting and discussing how we’re going to do this,” Nelson said. “We also have a vision for a hospital choir to help unify the hospital.”

Wisner said he’s enjoyed working with Nelson, whose faith inspires him in his own walk with Christ.

“She has a heart to serve people in whatever capacity they need,” Wisner said. “Working with her makes you want to be a better Christian.”

Being able to express his Christian faith is a major reason Wisner said he’s excited to be a part of the hospital’s chaplain program.

“I’ve worked at places where it wasn’t encouraged to express you’re faith — they looked down on it,” Wisner said. “It’s wonderful being able to express your faith at work.”

Wisner and Nelson are part of a group of hospital employees that meet for a 15- to 30-minute Christian devotional each week. As many as 13 or as few as five attend the devotional, depending on their work schedules.

“We help encourage each other, and I try to make a habit of calling them ‘brother’ and ‘sister,’” Wisner said. “There’s a respect there, kind of like, ‘I have your back.’”

The group promotes a family atmosphere amongst the people who attend, Wisner said.

“After the first devotional we had, everyone hugged one another and called each other ‘brother’ and ‘sister,’” Wisner said. “It was a good day.”

Nelson said the devotional doesn’t have a set day each week at this point. She hopes to offer the devotional to patients.

“We haven’t invited the patients yet, because we’re not fully up and going,” she explained. “We meet when we can. Hopefully, when all the chaplains are on board, we’ll have a schedule.”

Nelson said she wanted to thank the hospital’s administrator, Billy Rucker, for allowing her to form the chaplain program.