“Nurses Appreciation Week” is celebrated this year May 5 – 12.

Having served in administrative capacities in the Healthcare industry for more than eighteen years, I have a close and up-front perspective – and a keen appreciation – for the profound impact that nurses have. The headlines in the Health and Medicine section of popular tabloids are full of the latest technological advances and discoveries in the world of treatments and causes of diseases: robotics surgery, Genetic medicine, tele-health and so on. Fascinating and exciting as it is, the immutable fact remains: nurses are the core component of delivering quality healthcare. Because at the end of the day, it is nurses who provide the nuts and bolts of the compassionate care that every patient needs in order to be “nursed” back to good health, physically and emotionally. “Nurses Care”- that is the essence and the calling of their profession.

In truth, my appreciation for the pivotal role of nurses goes beyond my professional experience – its actually personal.

Some time back, I spent time in a hospital recovering from medical trauma. I experienced first-hand the profound positive effects that nurses had on my recovery. Just knowing that there is a caring and skilled person who is aware of your symptoms and needs, someone who is attentive, responsive, and always only a “call button” away is a most reassuring factors that allows healing to take place.

As Dag Hammarskjold once famously remarked: “Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon.”

We at Serenity Hospice salute all nurses for their work that comes from the heart!

 

Michael Drew, LNHA

Executive Director

Serenity Hospice PA