Teachers, Nurses, Healthcare Workers

Hello All,

I love the first two weeks of May. Not only because I love Spring (my second favorite season), but because it is also when three important recognition weeks occur. Three weeks where we celebrate people who have chosen professions that make a difference across the nation and the world – teachers, nurses and all of the professions in the hospital – all who are beacons of hope, light and love. As John Kennedy said, “We must find time to stop and thank people who make a difference in our lives.”

Teacher Appreciation Week was May 2nd through May 8th. John Wooden said “I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of society more than any single profession.” I think he said this extraordinarily well. Education is the foundation of our success in life. From pre-school to graduate degrees, these extraordinary teachers bring subjects to life – push us to achieve – support us when we need help – and become role models. Over this past year their lives have changed radically – classroom to virtual . They had to figure out how to capture and maintain attention in two radically different ways. They had to translate lesson plans into action shows to get the the information out in understandable ways on the computer screen. Teachers have fought to find students that got lost in the system – find, and often buy with their own funds, needed computers so the students had the tools for success – go to students home to deliver books and needed supplies – go to students home who were falling behind or needed extra support and attention to grasp concepts. I know that every person who has had to homeschool their children during this time has developed a whole new appreciation for teachers! I am quite sure each of you can share stories about those teachers who were impactful in your life, who influenced your growth an development. (I will never forget Mrs. Massengill, my 6th grade teacher, who gave me my very first “F”. She looked at me and said “I know you have it in you to do great things. Show it. Make it happen.” I hope I have made her proud!) Henry Brooks Adams said “A teacher affects eternity; he (she) can never tell where his (her) influence stops.” Amen! Thank you to the incredible teachers!

Week of the Nurse spans the same dates every year – starting on May 6th and ending on May 12th, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. This year’s theme is “A Voice to Lead”. And lead they have over a very intense and challenging year. They have carried higher patient loads than usual to meet this unprecedented pandemic demand and need. They have been the voice of concern and raised issues when they needed to. They have been the voice of the patients, reaching out to the families who were unable to be with the patients – and also the voice of the family to the patient, developing new ways to ensure communication between them. (Thank goodness for cellphones and tablets and meeting apps that helped facilitate these distance touches!) They have been the voices of support to one another and their other team mates. They have bruised faces from wearing masks and an amazing assortment of head gear for more hours than any of us could have tolerated. They have bruised hearts from their wonderful compassion, staying beyond their shifts to hold patients’ hands, serving as family when the family could not be there, and making sure there was no patient who died alone. They have been on the front line taking care of us, sometimes leaving their own families to not endanger them to take care of ours. Keep using that voice! As Confucius says “Words are the voice of the heart.” Our heartfelt thanks to this incredible team!

National Hospital week runs from May 9th to the 15th. The theme this year is “Inspiring Hope through Healing”. We say it takes a village to raise a child – it takes multiple villages to run a hospital! Imagine the things you need to do in your home – from cutting the grass, to cooking and cleaning, to keeping the lights and heat on, from taking your medications and the hundreds of other activities to keep your family safe and cared for – and multiple that by the hundreds of patients in each hospital! That same attention to detail you show to your family, they show to everyone’s! Now add in lab tests, the myriad of radiology procedures, surgeries, cardiac caths, sleep studies…..the list goes on…..you can only imagine the skills and talents that are brought to the hospital every day! This team also lived in personal protective equipment, utilized new technologies and changed practices to ensure the very best care to and for all. Soren Kierkegaard said, “Hope is a passion for the possible.” They have the passion – they are dealers in hope! To the inspirational people in all of the department of the hospitals – thank you!

Meister Eckhart said, “If the only prayer you ever say in your life is THANK YOU, it will be enough.” Those two words are incredibly powerful. And we don’t use them nearly often enough. To the teachers – to the nurses – to everyone who works in hospitals – THANK YOU. Thank you for giving your time and talents. Thank you for being there for our families when we could not. Thank you for keeping us safe. Thank you for literally changing practices daily as new scientific evidence became available. Thank you for your compassion. Know that you are appreciated! And we will all work to say thank you more each and every day.

Phyl