May 7, 2007
The Warmth of Caring, The Light of Care
This year’s UCH Nurses’ Week theme, "Nurses: The Warmth of Caring, The Light of Care," leads the nursing professional to reflect back to the symbolic Nightingale lamp. Florence Nightingale earned the nickname "the Lady with the Lamp" when she tended to the sick through the night during the Crimean War (1854-1856).

Florence Nightingale is best known for having founded modern nursing and for improving care provided by hospitals. She was named after her birthplace, Florence, Italy.

In honor of Florence Nightingale’s birthday on May 12, every year, the week of May 6-12 is set aside as National Nurses’ Week. This is the week that nurses in the U.S. receive recognition for their dedication and contribution to the profession. Currently, there are nearly 2.9 million Registered Nurses (RNs) in the United States. The 2007 National Nurses’ Week is devoted to highlighting diverse ways in which RNs, the largest health care profession, are working to improve health care.

Every day at UCH, nurses touch the lives of our patients in many ways and in many settings. Our nurses exhibit the UCH values of teamwork, caring, passion, accountability, resourcefulness, and innovation every day. We impact our patients and their families from birth to end-of-life. In addition, nurses are highly valued by the public as the most trusted profession in the United States (Gallup Poll 2006).

During this celebratory week, on behalf of myself and the entire UCH Administrative Team, we would like to thank our nurses for all you do to deliver high quality, compassionate care to our patients. We truly appreciate our nurses' caring demeanors and willingness to go the "extra mile."

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