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Interviews by Michelle Paolucci
May 4, 2000

"Taking the time when you don’t have the time; helping someone find his or her way when you are on your way to lunch; going into a patient’s room and being cheerful and comforting when you just left a room where a patient you know well received a diagnosis of cancer; and maintaining a sense of humor when those around you have lost theirs. That’s what ‘keeping the care’ means."

Sue A. Driscoll
Exempla St. Joseph Hospital
Denver

"This year’s theme means staying focused on the critical importance of establishing a relationship with the patients and families we serve. It is through this relationship that nurses assist, support and influence individuals to better manage their healthcare and wellness needs. In the current healthcare environment, it means taking the time to make this a priority––it is how we make a difference for the many individuals with whom we come into contact and have the opportunity to treat."

Barbara Hyland-Hill
Good Samaritan Hospital
Puyallup, Wash.

"‘Keeping the care in health care’ means maintaining the personal, intimate connection with a patient and family; going beyond the frantic distraction of tasks that have to be done; to see and to know that patient as a partner in creating the results and the future they want."

Ruth Hansten
Hansten and Washburn, nurse consultants
Bainbridge Island, Wash.

"This theme inspires hope that we are validating the basic fundamentals of health care and not minimizing the act of caring to a service amenity. Caring is deliberate; it is an intentional act that provides the foundation for what health care is all about––how appropriate that we recognize the need to heighten the importance of the caring concept."

Marilynn Washburn
Hansten and Washburn, nurse consultants
Bainbridge Island, Wash.

"As we all face greater fiscal constraints, we can’t forget that even though health organizations are businesses, their No.1 business is caring for people. By balancing the needs of patients, the caregiving staff, the community’s health and the organization’s health, we can continue to thrive so that care for all can continue."

Kathleen Sanford
Harrison Memorial Hospital
Bremerton, Wash.

"‘Keeping the care’ means making a commitment to love the people under my care despite their differences, despite the challenges and regardless of my personal feelings."

Jerry McIntosh
Albany General Hospital
Albany, Ore.

"Keeping nurses in health care will keep the ‘care’ in health care. Not everyone in this huge industry has the privilege of touching patients and families in the most direct, personal ways. I could choose to leave nursing, but I have yet to find another opportunity as value-driven as nursing."

Cathe Clapp
consultant
Seattle

"Our Nurses Week planning committee elected to go with our own theme, ‘Back to the Future.’ ‘Keeping the Care in Health Care’ is a timely theme, however. I’m very concerned, as we all are, about our continued ability to recruit qualified individuals into the healthcare profession. All over the country, hospitals are experiencing difficulty recruiting not only healthcare professionals, but administrative and support staff as well. We need to ensure that we provide environments where staffing is at a safe and reasonable level, and where systems work to assist staff in providing good care."

Jane Hirsch
University of California,
San Francisco Medical Center

"At the University of Utah College of Nursing, we are honoring caregivers through a program we call ‘Honors for Nursing.’ Our faculty identifies peers both in the college and in our partner agencies, as well as alumni and students, to say ‘thank you’ for the care they give. We honor these special nurses through a reception and certificate that recognize their contributions. We must take care of the caregivers to maintain the wonderful care nurses give to all in need."

Penny S. Brooke
University of Utah, College of Nursing
Salt Lake City