The Nebraska Health System and the University of Nebraska Medical Center
will recognize nurses during National Nurses Week with a variety of activities,
beginning May 6 and ending May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale,
founder of nursing as a profession. The week, themed, “Nurses: Healing
from the Heart,” is dedicated to honoring nurses and the contribution they
make to health care.
On Tuesday, May 11, NHS and UNMC nurses are invited to attend a breakfast
or luncheon featuring nationally-known motivational speaker, Karyn Buxman,
nurse and humorist. The theme of her speech will be “Humor and Healing:
Keeping Balance in Challenging Times.”
Buxman has worked in various capacities as a nurse before she began
her speaking career in 1991 in therapeutic humor. She combines her skills
as a humorist, storyteller and health care professional.
During Nurses Week, two nurses will be chosen to receive excellence
in nursing awards — the Carol M. Wilson Award for Quality in Nursing and
the Spirit of Nursing Award. Winners of the awards will receive an
all-expense paid trip to a professional nursing conference of their choice.
The Wilson award, named in honor of a longtime nursing leader at University
Hospital, was established in 1993. It honors a professional nurse who represents
the highest ideals in nursing. The Spirit of Nursing Award is being given
for the first time this year to honor a staff nurse who exemplifies excellence
in patient care.
NHS also will host “Walk With a Nurse,” a program in which administrators
shadow nurses during part of their day to see first-hand daily experiences
in nursing.
Nebraska Health System (NHS) is the partnership of Clarkson Hospital,
the first hospital in Nebraska, and University Hospital, the primary teaching
facility for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The combined hospital
is an 835-bed facility and serves about 25 percent of the Omaha-area market.
NHS operates 23 clinics and health care centers serving Omaha, Plattsmouth,
Gretna and Auburn in Nebraska; and Council Bluffs and Shenandoah in Iowa.
In addition, NHS physicians operate more than 450 outpatient clinics
in 100 communities in five states. NHS provides access to tertiary and
primary care including world-class specialized treatment such as solid
organ transplantation, burn care, wound care, geriatrics, bone marrow (stem
cell) transplantation and other cancer treatments.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education and patient care, UNMC is
one of the country’s leading centers for cancer research and treatment
and solid organ transplantation. More than $34 million in research
grants and contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists annually. In
addition, UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more
health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.