Celebrating National Nurses Day 2021
Today is National Nurses Day, a day to recognize the immense, incredible work our nurses do every single day. During a year of intense stress and long hours, they continually rose to the occasion, doing everything in their power to keep our patients healthy and our community safe.
In short, our nurses do their jobs to the utmost of their abilities. They are truly the best of the best and have the credentials to prove it. Our nurses aren’t just caring – they’re highly, highly qualified, very well-educated healthcare professionals. This year, in the midst of a global pandemic, our nursing team once again achieved Magnet status, the highest institutional honor and gold standard for nursing excellence – proof of the power of advanced medicine, immense teamwork and true care being delivered here.
So, as we celebrate National Nurses Day, the start of National Nurses Week, we would like to salute and acknowledge our nurses and the incredible care they provide. On behalf of UK HealthCare, we thank you for being on the front line of care – and for all that you do for every patient, every day.
"Our nursing team at UK HealthCare is absolutely the gold standard for what professional nursing is in today’s complex and unpredictable healthcare landscape.
The qualities of compassion and care are ever present….our nurses bring a contemporary situational awareness to manage the complexity of care and to lead and work in interdisciplinary teams. The nursing team also certainly brings their 'game face' each and every day, for every patient, every time.
We receive hundreds of letters, emails and cards from patients and families every year praising the impact the nursing team has on them and the people they love. The impact of nursing care at UK HealthCare is broad, deep and long lasting: celebrating the 'big blue' brand of nursing practice is an honor and a privilege." – Colleen Swartz, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FNAP, Vice President for Hospital Operations
“The nursing team members on this unit have set a high bar for the quality nursing care they deliver, and pride themselves on the deeply personal and compassionate relationships that they establish with their patients.” – Marc Manley, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Patient Care Manager of the CV Progressive Unit
“We work as a team to provide the best care not just to the children but their families as well. Nurses are a critical part of the mission to improve the health and well-being of children throughout the lifespan.
The heart of our nurses’ unwavering dedication to the families, patients and communities is our best reflection of values and goals that define us and the reason that families continue to trust us with their children at Kentucky Children’s hospital.” – Dr. Scottie B. Day, physician-in-chief, Kentucky Children’s Hospital
“Our nurses are the heart and soul of our team caring for our pregnant women and their babies.
They have persevered during the worst of the pandemic caring for several mothers’ sick with COVID. They made every effort to keep women with COVID in our LD suite because they knew that this is where they would get the best care!
They have persevered during the opioid epidemic that has made a comeback during COVID pandemic, erasing much of the headway we had made pre- pandemic. They care for the most vulnerable. They care for the most complex and the most natural healthy pregnancies. They work hard. They do it all, while still maintaining their focus on each woman as an individual. They are the BEST!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!” – Dr. Wendy Hanson
“Transplant nurse coordinators are an integral part of the transplant team. They care for patients with professionalism, kindness, and compassion while guiding them through the transplant process and beyond. Many of our nurses develop lifelong relationships with our patients and we couldn’t do it without them!” – Mareshah Priddy, Transplant Administrator Assistant
