The more than 400 registered nurses and licensed professional nurses at Rowan Regional Medical Center are celebrating Nurses Week with a variety of events May 6-12, including a candlelight vigil in the hospital courtyard on Tuesday.
The public is invited to attend the 8 p.m. vigil. The theme of this year’s nationally celebrated Nurses Week is “Nurses: Making a Difference Every Day.”
National Nurses Week seeks to raise public awareness of the value of nursing and help educate the public about the vital role nurses play in meeting the healthcare needs of the American public. National Nurses Week ends May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern-day nursing.
“At Rowan Regional Medical Center, our nurses truly do make a difference every day,” RRMC Chief Nursing Officer Edwina Ritchie said in a press release. “At Rowan Regional, the contribution of our nurses is embraced at the very heart of professional practice ó the bedside. We are so very proud of them, and this week is our opportunity to say, ‘Thank you’ to each of them.”
At noon on Tuesday, Rowan Regional Medical Center will announce its annual Nursing Excellence Award. Named in honor of Tammy Bernhardt, a former nurse in the medical center’s Coronary Care Unit who died of cancer in 1998, the award is one of the highest honors given to a nurse at Rowan Regional.
Later that evening, from 8 to 9 p.m., former and current nurses will lead a candlelight vigil near the Rowan Regional courtyard off Henderson Street. Nurses will light their candles and renew their commitment to the nursing profession.
A number of other events and activities for Rowan Regional nursing staff are planned for this week, including a special health fair focusing on the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of nurses. Through May 12, the hospital will also feature posters, essays and artwork made by area school children commemorating nursing.