Barton Nurses Make a Difference

May is a time we can honor the contributions made by nurses and thank these medical professionals who help keep us healthy.

For more than two years, since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, nurses everywhere have worked around the clock caring for millions of ill patients. At no time in recent history has nursing been under such pressure and considered so vital to delivering quality healthcare across the U.S.

Nurses have been on the front lines, often taking personal risks. Many have worked in hospitals taking care of acutely ill patients, and many more worked outside of acute care in doctors’ offices, community clinics, and mobile vehicles. And in some communities nurses travel on foot to locate people in hard-to-reach environments.

In our rural, mountain community, Barton nurses were called to rapidly evacuate their patients during the Caldor Fire emergency. Caring for their patients until they were safely relocated out of the fire’s reach meant expediting their own evacuation plans—testimony to a nurse’s commitment and dedication.

Nursing during COVID and Caldor challenged many of us, forcing us to adapt to new ways of delivering care. While this period has challenged us more than ever before, we are more resilient, met those daily challenges with grace and compassion, and never lost our commitment to our patients and community. 

Whether you meet a newly minted RN or someone who’s been doing this work for 40 years, each one will tell you they felt called to become a nurse. It may be a calling to care for the elderly, the sick, or the dying or it may be an inner drive to deliver babies—but it’s always there, a spark inside that drives us to reach out and comfort the afflicted at a time when they are often alone, afraid, or both.

In spite of COVID and all that is piled onto the profession of nursing, nurses are nurses because they love nursing. As I’ve said before, we’ll still be here long after COVID, caring for patients in this community with unwavering dedication. 

And now that we can see a light at the end of this global health crisis, let’s once again thank these exceptional women and men for their dedication and professionalism throughout this trying time.

Barton nurses, thank you for all you do—you truly make a difference.

Julie Clayton, RN, MSN, NEA-BC, is Chief Nursing Officer at Barton Health.