The Lady with the Lamp

May 6, 2020 by Medigroup

“The Lady with the Lamp”

Florence Nightingale was born May 12, 1980. Through her tireless life-long work, Nightingale has become the founder of modern-day nursing. It is in honor of her birthday that every year we celebrate nurses May 6-12. This year, though, marks 200 years since her birth. In order to commemorate this anniversary and “to recognize the critical contribution [the nursing and midwifery] professions make to global health,” WHO has declared it The Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

Nightingale began making a name for herself at the young age of 33; by 1854 she was called on to assist British troops during the Crimean War. She and a team of all female nurses traveled to Constantinople only to be welcomed by angry doctors upset that women were sent as help. The National Women’s History Museum  explains how Nightingale and her team of nurses were able to transform the military hospital with their supplies, cleanliness, sanitation, and individual care. “The death rate went down from 40% to 2% because of their work.” Nightingale received the nickname “the Lady with the Lamp” because of visiting the bedside of recovering troops through the night with a lamp by her side.

Nightingale set the stage and standard of care for future generations of nurses. Nurses are an integral part of healthcare whether it is in a hospital, a surgery center, or a clinic. In The Daily Nurse’s 6 Reasons Why 2020 is the Year of the Nurse , they mention that nurses make up nearly 50% of the healthcare workforce. They play a vital public health role as sometimes they are the only healthcare provider in a community. As West Coast University points out, nurses “bridge the gap between the patient and the doctor and are perfectly placed to help shape the future of the medical industry with valuable perceptions on the issues or shortcomings on either or both sides of the fence.” It only makes sense that we take this whole week, month, and even year to celebrate and recognize the nurses for everything that they do. And what a poignant time for nurses.

As a healthcare GPO specializing in alternate care facilities, MediGroup and our distributor partners work with nurses from many backgrounds providing care in urgent cares, surgery centers, physician offices, free-standing ERs and many other facilities. We are very thankful for the care that you provide to your patients. Thank you, Nurses for all that you do!