Dear Editor:

With all that has transpired this year across the world, it seems both ironic and fitting that the World Health Organization designated 2020 the Year of the Nurse and Midwife. Originally, this decision was based on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern-day nursing.

Nurses Week 2020 is May 6-12 and while it is important to celebrate the skills and accomplishments of our nurses, it is a year where we must share this recognition with so many others in healthcare.

Physicians, Advanced Practice Providers, Certified Nursing Assistants, Respiratory Therapists, Therapists, Medical Assistants, Dietary Staff, Environmental Services, Maintenance and so many others deserve our thanks and gratitude. The call to action demanded by the COVID-19 pandemic has required teamwork like never before, and the team at LincolnHealth has responded to this call in incredible fashion.

Nurses, as front line caregivers, have adjusted workflows to deliver care in emergency services, inpatient and obstetrics as well as in ambulatory practices and long-term care. In each setting, the nurses on the frontlines are prepared to care for and protect their patients, residents and each other. The delivery of care requires a level of intensity that most of us have not experienced before in an environment unlike any other we have faced. Through it all, our nurses and caregivers have kept patient and resident needs at the forefront and provided topnotch, compassionate care

This year during National Nurses Week, as we continue to confront the coronavirus and protect the health and safety of our community members, I want to share how grateful I am and how much I value nurses at LincolnHealth and across our state, country and the world.

The heroism of Florence Nightingale lives on in every one of you.

Christine Anderson, RN, MSN, NE BC

LincolnHealth