As described by nationaltoday.com, from assisting with life-threatening ER crises, to delivering babies, and caring for the elderly in their last moments, nurses perform some of the most difficult and heartbreaking tasks in the medical world. As workers who perform the most essential healthcare tasks, they serve as the first point of contact for most patients.

 

“National Nurses Week honors their contributions and sacrifices and reminds us to thank the medical professionals who keep us healthy,” a statement on the website reads. The week is celebrated between May 6, National Nurses Day, and May 12, the birthdate of celebrated nurse, Florence Nightingale.

 

The Bronx, being home to several large hospitals, ensured to mark the occasion.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, located in Morris Park, celebrated their nursing staff with a series of events honoring their contributions to the facility. This included a talent show, a special breakfast, an awards ceremony with a keynote speaker address, a “blessing of the hands” religious ceremony, and desert day.

Nurses were further celebrated with various proclamations delivered to the hospital by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34), State Assembly Member Nathalia Fernández (A.D. 80), and District 13 City Council Member Marjorie Velázquez.

 

Montefiore Medical Center also celebrated its nurses, holding a red carpet event in their honor at the Jack D. Weiler Hospital at Montefiore, also located in Morris Park. A Montefiore representative said of the occasion, “This week, we take pride in celebrating our nurses and nurse leaders for their commitment and dedication to our patients, families and the community we serve.”

 

The representative added, “They make a difference every day, and because of their contributions to caring and healing, they are more than deserving of a red carpet welcome. This welcome to the ‘Hall of Caring’ is just a token of our appreciation for our nurses.”

 

As reported in a recent op-ed by the City’s health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, New Yorkers are being asked to remain vigilant amid a recent national uptick in COVID-19 cases.

 

Separately, Healthcare Workers Union, 1199SEIU, responded on May 25 to a LeadingAge New York lawsuit that the union said would block nursing home laws aimed at improving staffing and care for the State’s frail and elderly.

 

According to the union, in 2021, after nursing home workers and advocates fought to improve staffing and care for residents, New York lawmakers approved new laws requiring nursing homes to provide residents with a minimum amount of nursing care and to spend the majority of their revenue on resident care.

 

On May 23, the nursing home trade association, LeadingAge New York, along with many affiliate nursing homes, filed suit to block the laws calling them infeasible and arbitrary.

 

Representatives of 1199SEIU issued a statement, saying, “We are disappointed and concerned that nursing home operators and their trade associations continue to spend their resources fighting commonsense resident protections rather than investing in improving care at their facilities.”

 

They continued, “Nursing home residents deserve high quality care provided by staff who have the time needed to spend with every resident. Taxpayers and consumers have the right to demand the money spent on care is used for care. These expectations are neither arbitrary nor infeasible.”

 

In 2021, as reported, the Office of the New York State Attorney General (OAG) released a report, entitled, “Nursing Home Response to COVID-19 Pandemic.” On its release, Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition (LTCCC) said, “This shocking yet unsurprising report must serve as a wake-up call that vulnerable residents and their families deserve better.” He added that many of the failures documented in the report had been going on for years and had only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Meanwhile, union representatives for 1199SEIU concluded, saying, “They are, in fact, the minimum we should expect for the elderly and frail who receive care, and the dedicated staff who work hard every day providing their residents with care and comfort. Instead of fighting these laws, providers should focus on providing good jobs and high quality care. If they do, they will meet the new standards.”