Celebrating Nursing Week

By Mary Anne Lynch
Winnipeg Regional Health Authority
Published Monday, May 10, 2021

For more than a year, health care professionals all across our system have been providing essential care in an unprecedented situation. When everyone else was staying home, you were on the front line, providing direct care and comfort to patients with COVID-19.  You have also become the face of this crisis, inspiring everyone in our community to practice the fundamentals and protect themselves from this virus. You are truly all extraordinary people, providing extraordinary care in extraordinary circumstances.

#WeAnswerTheCall, is the theme for National Nursing Week 2021 and I couldn’t think of a better way to describe nurses. The role of the nurse has never been more important or more visible than in the past year. Nurses have responded and gone where they were needed most with courage and commitment.  

Amidst all of this change and uncertainty, you have not only provided essential care and services, but offered and provided comfort to clients, patients and residents who, for the most part, are facing their health care journey alone due to safety precautions and restrictions.  Playing the role of a family member, a friend or a loved one, you have held hands, held iPads and iPhones, and offered reassurance and support through some of the most difficult days for them.

I also want to acknowledge the contributions of our Indigenous nurses, and the proclamation of May 12, 2021 as Indigenous Nurses Day in Manitoba. Your dedication to providing safe, culturally competent and ethical care has been crucial in the response to COVID-19. You have answered the call to support the health and wellbeing of our community.

I am and remain deeply grateful and appreciative for the work nurses do.  

I know what you have been through this past year. I know that you are tired, and I acknowledge that it can be so difficult at times to stay positive and courageous. Now more than ever, it is so important for you to take care and take steps daily to protect your mental, physical and emotional health. Nurses are resilient. There is light at the end of this long tunnel and I need you to make it there with me. #NursingMatters

In solidarity,

Mary Anne Lynch