Nurses Week

"Save one life, you're a hero; save 100 lives, you're a nurse."

 Anonymous

I can't think of a better motto for a more deserving group of individuals, nurses that is.  Although there are so many changes occurring in the field of nursing with advances in technology, innovation, regulation, quality and safety, what hasn't changed is the complexity of the patients who are hospitalized today.  Every effort is being made in many hospitals and health systems across the US, including WMHS, to keep patients healthy enough so they don't need to be admitted.   As a result, today's hospitalized patients are the sickest that they have ever been, presenting challenges daily for our nurses.  The response continues to be one of compassion and dedication.  The bedside nurse is truly a special person and is joined by those nurses who work throughout the continuum of care.  These nurses include Home Care, Performance Improvement, Patient Safety, Infection Control, Care Coordination, Surgery, Labor and Delivery, Education, Cardiac Services, Imaging and the list goes on. 

In so many ways, the nurse has come so far from the days of Florence Nightingale; but in so many other ways, the care, the compassion and the tireless work of the bedside nurse has not changed in over last 150 years.  Happy Nurses Week!