The Henry and Stark County Health Departments and our First Choice Healthcare Clinics in Kewanee and Colona announce that May 6th-12th has been proclaimed National Nurses Week. In honor of this important health observance the Department salutes their dedicated nurses.

RaeAnn Tucker, Director of Health Promotion notes, "Patients often recognize that a nurse is the health care professional with whom they and their families have the most direct contact. But they might not realize that nurses also are leaders in improving the quality of care and expanding access to care. That’s why May 6-12 is celebrated as National Nurses Week"

This year’s theme, “Nurses Make a Difference: Anytime, Anywhere – Always,” recognizes and celebrates ways in which nurses lead the charge of health and wellness. This theme was only fitting with the past 3 years and the challenges they have brought to nurses the world over. The truth is nurses serve as leaders at the bedside, in the boardroom, throughout communities and in the halls of government. The public holds nurses in high regard and trusts them to advocate for patients. For the past 24 years, the public has ranked nursing as the top profession for honesty and ethics in an annual Gallup survey.

During this special week nurses are being honored as leaders who improve the quality of health care. Nurses are leading initiatives to increase access to care and improve outcomes by focusing on primary care, prevention, wellness, chronic disease management and the coordination of care among health care providers and settings. In addition, the demand for nursing services will be greater than ever because of the aging of the American population, the continuing expansion of life-sustaining technologies, and the explosive growth of home health care service; qualified registered nurses will be needed in the future to meet the increasingly complex needs of health care consumers in this community. To say the least, these are areas in which nurses excel given their education and experience.

The Health Department nurses are key players in all areas of the Health Department: Clinical Services, Communicable Disease Control, WIC, Case Management and Health Education. The Administration of the Henry and Stark County Health Departments encourages everyone to join with them in saluting nursing professionals everywhere.

For more information on the services of the Henry and Stark County Health Department and our First Choice Healthcare Clinics call (309) 852-5272 (Kewanee) or (309) 792-4011 (Colona) or visit our website at www.henrystarkhealth.com, find us on Facebook or Follow Us on Twitter.