Beebe Medical Center to Pay Tribute to Nurses and Acknowledges National Nurses Week 

For the second year in a row, Beebe Medical Center has organized a special candle lighting ceremony to pay tribute to nurses during National Nurses Week.

The ceremony, which recognizes all nurses who make a difference in the lives of their patients and families, will take place 6:15 p.m., May 6, on the front lawn of Beebe Medical Center. Beebe Alumni, retired staff and the public are invited to attend this special event. Light refreshments will follow.

“We would like to take this opportunity to recognize all nurses for the work that they do and for the care they provide to their patients and the families who love and support them,” said Jeffrey M. Fried, President and CEO of Beebe Medical Center.

National Nurses Week is celebrated from May 6, also known as National Nurses Day, through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.  It was decided to have a candle lighting ceremony due to it’s symbolism of Florence Nightingale, known as the Lady with the Lamp, says Denise Larson, RN, a nurse and Clinical Education Specialist at Beebe Medical Center. The vision of her with a lamp came from the Crimean War in the 1850s when, as a volunteer to help medical workers, she was known to make her rounds in the hospital at night to care for the wounded soldiers.

In 1858, Ms. Nightingale founded a school for the training of nurses in London, England. She not only improved the care of patients in civilian and military hospitals, but became a specialist in hygiene and sanitation and recognized that ventilation and the removal of sewer waste were critical to the control of infection. At that time, soldiers died more from diseases such as typhus and cholera than from gunshot wounds. Ms. Nightingale went on to influence government public health efforts that included protecting underground drinking water supplies from sewer run-off.

“We cannot forget that nurses impact the care of patients at every level, whether in the doctor’s office, on a visit as part of a home health service, on a floor in the hospital, or in research, educational and public health capacities,” says Paul Minnick, Vice President of Patient Care Services. “They fill so many roles and make a difference in all our lives. They lead quality improvement initiatives and make sure that we follow protocols based on best practice guidelines.”

Denise Larson says she is proud to be a nurse. Her favorite quote about nurses, which is anonymous, is: “Save one life and you are a hero; save a hundred lives and you are a nurse.”

“My hope is that if a nurse has touched your life in any way, that you will take part in this quiet remembrance,” Denise says.

The annual celebration also reminds us that there is a nationwide shortage of nurses. Beebe Medical Center is addressing the local shortage of nurses by expanding its 90-year-old School of Nursing and doubling the number of graduates each year.

Beebe Medical Foundation has launched a capital campaign to raise $3 million to help fund the $5.9 million expansion project. In partnering with you, we can make it happen.

For more information about the event, please contact Nancy Cummings. Her telephone number is (302) 645-3221.