Nurses Week 2020: Celebrating Compassion, Expertise, and Trust

Every year, Nurses Week takes place between May 6th and May 12th. Even though we celebrate Nurses Week annually, there is something different about this year. We are fighting a pandemic, and nurses are working on the front lines to draw blood, administer IVs, hook up ventilators and provide compassionate support to patients with COVID-19. 

At VNA Health Group, we are doing everything we can to protect our hard working nurses, and believe that nurses need to feel the love more than ever this year! Let’s look at what our own nurses have been doing these last few weeks and the impact they are having on New Jersey residents. 

VNA Health Group Nurses Step Up and Provide Care to COVID Patients 

VNA Health Group is well-known for providing comprehensive home health and hospice care services to NJ residents. After spending years caring for patients who are sick or disabled, one would assume that VNA Health Group nurses would be ready for almost anything. After all, these nurses help people recover from illnesses, ease end-of-life pain and comfort family members. 

But a pandemic? Well, that’s something that many of us didn’t think we’d see in our lifetimes. 

However, here we are dealing with the novel coronavirus. And as parts of New Jersey continue to be hit hard with the virus, it hasn’t stopped the nurses from VNA Health Group from doing what they do best. Working in teams of two, these healthcare workers dress in protective gear and continue to provide personalized, one-on-one care to those in need. 

How Home Health Nurses are Changing Lives for NJ Residents During the Pandemic 

Home care services for people with COVID-19 have been extremely valuable to our communities. Here are some of the goals that our nurses are focused on: 

• Free up beds at the hospitals. Thanks to home health nurses, more people with COVID have been able to receive highly skilled care at home. This allows local hospitals to keep more beds open for those who need them. 

• Connect family members to their loved ones. Because people with the virus must quarantine, many have been left to recover or even die all alone. Home health nurses bridge this gap by staying with patients and connecting them to their loved ones via technology. 

• Provide compassionate care. Fighting a novel virus, especially alone, is one of the scariest things a person can go through. Our nurses are risking their own health to sit with these patients, keep them comfortable and manage uncomfortable symptoms. 

• Help families cope with death. For those who have lost a loved one to COVID-19, our home health nurses can offer information on bereavement support. We have many resources in our local communities, but finding them can be a challenge. 

VNA Health Group nurses never stop working – even through a pandemic. As we celebrate Nurses Week in 2020, we want to thank the nurses from our own agency, as well as all the others who are choosing to help others despite the risks. If you see a nurse this week, be sure to thank them, too!