Sudbury RN and member Maria Casas writes about the importance of Nursing Week in a letter to the Timmins Daily Press (May 10).

In 1971, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) designated May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday, as International Nurses Day. In 1985, in recognition of the dedication and achievements of the nursing profession, the Canadian minister of health proclaimed the second week of May as National Nursing Week in Canada.

Nightingale is best known around the world as the ‘Lady with the Lamp’ who nursed British soldiers during the Crimean War and turned nursing into a profession. But she was also much more than that. She was an activist, social theorist and author whose advocacy to improve health and sanitation for British Army soldiers, and writings on hospital planning and organization, laid the foundation for nursing’s emphasis on social determinants of health today. Nightingale published more than 200 books, reports and pamphlets.

It is important to highlight the significant impact nurses have in all areas during this particularly demanding time in history.

• Public health nurses are overseeing the tracing of COVID-19 contacts to alert those at risk and minimize disease spread.
• Nurses in long-term care are managing ever-changing directives in regards to screening and cohorting of residents to keep them safe.
• Acute care nurses are providing supportive care to those infected to reduce complications, while keeping infections from spreading.
• Nurses in the community are assisting with the rollout of vaccines and helping those COVID-19 patients who are ill, but not in need of hospitalization.

These represent just a few examples of the contributions nurses are making to the fight against COVID-19, above and beyond their usual professional responsibilities.

RNAO’s Sudbury & District Chapter acknowledges the influence of all nurses and thanks them, and their care partners, for the important work they do. Nursing Week gives nurses across the world the chance to celebrate and to keep Nightingale’s work alive by keeping Ontarians healthy, and caring for them when they’re ill.