How many Dina Schallers are on your staff? What about Earl Morrison, Keith Edwards or Judi Nelson?
Chances are, there are dozens of them. They are the nurses, orderlies, techs and others who have that little extra something that inspires heroic deeds. I’m not talking about the life-saving acts hospital staff perform every day — heroic, indeed. No, it’s the homemade mobile cart Morrison made so that ICU patients on ventilators can get up and walk around. Or the powerful interactive campaign Nelson created to teach teens about the dangers of driving while drunk. And the exhaustive three-month search Edwards performed to unite a homeless man with his family after a 35-year absence.
Those are just a handful of stories we’ve been telling every month in our Extra Mile series. There are hundreds more, I’m sure.
The business of health care can be exhausting and create some grand distractions. We launched Extra Mile a couple of years ago to spotlight the reason you all got into this line of work: to help patients and the community — locally and abroad.
During the month of May, the field celebrates both National Nurses Week (May 6–12) and National Hospital Week (May 10–16). While this two-week stretch is certainly a great time to bring extra attention to the good deeds being done by your staff, it shouldn’t be the only time we pay tribute.
We want to hear from you. Do you have staff who are going above and beyond the call of duty, who are going that extra mile? Send us their stories. — You can reach me at mweinstock@healthforum.com.
