SITKA –The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) is encouraging community members to join the organization in celebrating Nurses Week from Wednesday, May 6, through Tuesday, May 12. SEARHC is recognizing nurses internally throughout the week, while residents in the service areas of Sitka, Juneau, Wrangell, Haines, Prince of Wales, Angoon, Hoonah and Kake will have the opportunity to receive
Nurses Week stickers to honor staff on the front-line. Nurses Week stickers can be found at select businesses across Sitka, as well as at SEARHC healthcare facilities in each of the participating communities listed above. The American Nurses Association (ANA), creators of Nurses Week, is asking nursing staff to use #yearofthenurse to share their stories of providing essential care across social media.
“The nursing profession touches each and every person throughout our region and around the world,” said Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center Chief Nursing Officer Kat Richards, RN BSN. “My wish is for those who receive care to take a moment and reflect on all that the nursing profession provides. To our nursing professionals, thank you all for being part of the SEARHC family and caring for our communities.”
Nurses Week was created by the ANA in 1990 to celebrate the contributions and successes of the largest group of health care professionals in the U.S. and challenge organizations to commit to nursing and nursing leaders in order to improve the nation’s health. The World Health Assembly, the governing body of the World Health Organization, has tabbed 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse” in honor of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. Nightingale is considered the founder of modern nursing.
“Nurses are with patients 24/7 from the beginning of life to the end,” said ANA President Ernest J. Grant. “Nurses practice in all healthcare settings and are filling new roles to meet the ever-growing demand for health and health care services.”