As we celebrate Nurses Week, we often talk about clinical excellence, high acuity, and the fast-paced nature of our work. And while those things are true, they aren't the soul of this profession. The soul of nursing is found in the moments that happen when no one is looking. A lot of changes have come to our hospital in the last couple of years, but the one pillar that has never changed is the compassion and care that our nurses bring to patient care.

This past Christmas, while faced with an incredibly busy floor with complex patients, our team saw a woman who had been with us for over 60 days. 60 days with hardly a single visitor. Rather than seeing another task on a chart, our nurses saw an opportunity to care for another human and truly go above and beyond. They didn’t just provide medical care; they provided a 'spa day.' They didn't just manage a room; they decorated it with a Christmas tree and gifts to ensure she wasn't alone for the holidays. They saw a person who needed to feel seen.

When that patient saw her room, she was moved to tears. In that moment, her 'complex social situation' was replaced by a simple, human connection. All of our nurses give of themselves everyday and these types of stories go on behind the scenes often unseen and under recognized. That day, Brandi Passman, Anna Gilmer, and Amie Chauvin, along with Renea Stevenson and Hattie Jones, made a difference to one person, and that was everything to her. No one knew it at that time, but that would be that patient's last Christmas as she would pass only days later.

Mark Twain once said, 'Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear, and the blind can see.' To our team and to all of you who bring that same heart to your shifts every day: you are the reason Ochsner is special. You don’t just treat patients; you restore their dignity.

Happy Nurses Week, and thank you for being the inspiration we all need.