Our Locations
Find a Doctor
Our Services
Symptoms
She was the “lady with the lamp” who made rounds on injured soldiers during the Crimean War at night, when she was a nurse manager and trainer. In 1860 she established the first non-secular nursing school at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. She utilized statistics, pioneering the presentation of data in graphical form, to help the healthcare profession understand the emerging science of healthcare hygiene and sanitation. She was also a medical writer, a humanitarian and a social reformer.
Of course, I am talking about Florence Nightingale, who is considered the founder of modern nursing and whose birthday on May 12 (1820) we honor by recognizing the contributions of nursing and nurses across the country and around the world. This year, National Nurses Week is celebrated the week leading up to her birthday, and National Hospital Week, a natural extension of the recognition of all healthcare workers, is celebrated the week after, May 12-18.
Aspen Valley Hospital has a host of activities planned to celebrate our nurses and healthcare professionals of all kinds. I can’t think of a time when these celebrations were more appropriate and needed. The combined impacts of a worldwide pandemic and a retiring and shifting workforce have contributed to healthcare staffing shortages over the past few years unlike anything our industry has seen in modern times. Here at AVH, we are on the upswing of the staffing crisis as evidenced by our greatly reduced attrition rates, fewer unfilled positions and much improved engagement scores from our employees who have overwhelmingly told us they take great pride in the quality of care we provide to our patients. These are all worth celebrating!
It is important for us as an organization to thank and recognize our staff. However, it is our patients who have the greatest voice. On a regular and frequent basis, I have the privilege of passing along patient praise to our staff and physicians. We receive cards, letters, emails, posts on our website and personal comments about how much our staff and physicians have impacted the care and lives of our patients. As I frequently explain to our grateful patients and family, their feedback means everything to our staff. It reinforces the reason they do what they do, and how they do it, because they strive to provide extraordinary care. That is also why AVH is consistently ranked among the best hospitals in the country, which also is a point of pride.
So, in the words of Kool and the Gang, “Let’s all celebrate and have a good time!” Please take a moment to thank a healthcare worker in your life. They are an essential part of our community, or whatever community they serve, in whatever capacity their job may be—nurse, physician, advanced practice provider, technician, technologist, EMT/paramedic, or administrative, financial, scheduling and other support staff. Every one of them is a part of a team that will be there when you need them.
Happy Birthday, Florence!
Dave
