Lisa Chelednik, Nurse Manager of Med/Surgery Nurses Glaiza Abigania RN and Ann Fama RN

(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - Florence Nightingale, the Lady with a Lamp, changed the course of nursing with her care of British soldiers during the Crimean War. Her birthday, May 12, traditionally marks the end of National Nurses Week.

At PeaceHealth Ketchikan more than half their caregivers are nurses.

Nurses make decisions in administrative offices and see patients at PeaceHealth Medical Group. They’re in our Emergency Department and in the operating rooms and by patients’ bedsides. Nurses are there when babies are born at New Beginnings and there with often elderly residents of New Horizons.

“These are people who gravitate to jobs that require compassion, dedication, and strength,” said Hill Pettus, vice president of patient care services, “these are the people we celebrate each year during Nurses Week.”

A nursing career offers vast opportunities. 217 of PeaceHealth Ketchikan caregivers work as Registered Nurses (RN), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) and Certified Nurse Midwifes (CNM). Another 24 are Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) and Medical Assistants (MA).

“I think people are surprised how many essential healthcare jobs are filled by nurses,” said Hill. “Nurses are not only the backbone of what we do, they’re the heart and soul as well.

“The care they provide our patients and the compassion with which they provide that care is at the heart of our mission,” he continued. “While Florence Nightingale changed the career of nursing, our nurses change the lives of the people they care for in our community.”

National Nurses Week was first observed in October 1953. Since 1974, Nurses Week has been celebrated May 6-12 each year, ending on Florence Nightingale’s birthday.

This year’s theme for Nurses Week is Nurses: A Voice to Lead-Nursing the World to Health. The World Health Organization has declared 2020 as The Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

Edited By Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News:

PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center
www.peacehealth.org/ketchikan

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