CVHS Celebrates Nurses Week 2023

Nurses Week is a time to celebrate the nurses who work throughout Catawba Valley Health System!

This week is a time to recognize all nurses – International Nurses, Student Nurses, School Nurses, Clinic Nurses and every nurse who makes an unparalleled impact in the care provided to our patients.

“Nurses are at the heart of the exceptional care and services we provide to the community. Nurses give compassionate care to patients and families during the most joyous, frightening and emotional times in their lives.” said Michelle Lusk, Chief Nursing Officer for CVHS.

The History of Nurses Week

Each year, National Nurses Week begins on May 6 and ends on May 12th, which is Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Nightingale was a British nurse who is best known as the founder of modern nursing. She helped to vastly improve sanitary measures within healthcare after watching the unnecessary spread of disease while acting as a nurse in the Crimean War, and later worked to establish a number of patient services that contributed to improving the quality of their hospital stay.

Her efforts to reform healthcare greatly influenced the quality of care in the 19th and 20th centuries, and because of her contributions toward nursing, the role became viewed as an honorable vocation, whereas it was once frowned upon by the upper class. Thanks to Nightingale, hospitals have services such as dietary requirements and laundry.

We’re grateful for her contributions toward nursing and the overall improvement of healthcare, and we honor those throughout Catawba Valley Health System who have continued her legacy by becoming a nurse.