HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- National Nursing Week is celebrated each year from May 6 -12. The World Health Organization declared the 2020 theme as the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife.”
Col. Mark Oordt, 66th Medical Squadron commander, will sign a proclamation May 12 recognizing Nurse and Technician Appreciation Week on the installation. The date honors Florence Nightingale's birthday, who many consider the founder of modern nursing.
National Nurses Week was first observed in October 1954 in honor of the 100th anniversary of Nightingale's mission while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War. President Nixon later proclaimed a "National Nurse Week" in 1974 and President Reagan officially designated May 6 as "National Recognition Day for Nurses," now known as National Nurses Day.
“Due to COVID-19 and the changes in staffing, I wanted to make sure everyone was able to be recognized and appreciated during Nurse’s Week,” said Capt. Autumn Wharmby, 66 MDS clinical nurse and this year’s lead for the week’s celebration.
Wharmby highlighted the community support members of the clinic have received.
“Just to have one person say that they appreciate what you do makes all the hard work worth it,” she said.
Wharmby said she believes nurses are the heart of healthcare and have a major impact on the lives of their patients.
“Nurses are remarkable human beings with such a broad spectrum of skills. We’re there when life comes into the world, and we’re there when it leaves,” she said. “We are advocates for our patients in every way imaginable.”