National Nurses Week is here! Hopefully our nurses already know how much we appreciate them throughout the year, but let’s give them some extra special attention this week, May 6-12. Regardless of their role in a hospital, doctor’s office, school, or clinic, nurses “educate, counsel, advocate, and lead” and deserve a week of recognition for their hard work. Magnus Health’s inaugural ASHE Award aims to do just that. Online voting for the ten finalists closed last night, and this Wednesday (School Nurse Day), we will honor our very first recipient for his or her Achievement in School Health Excellence. Stay tuned for the results!

A look back at the history of National Nurses Week: In 1953, Dorothy Sutherland of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare sent a proclamation to the White House to declare a “Nurse Day” for the following year. The proclamation was never made; but, with dedicated work over the following years, nursing advocates were successful. President Reagan signed a proclamation in 1982, declaring “National Recognition Day for Nurses” to be May 6. Then, in 1990, the ANA (American Nurses Association) Board of Directors declared the entire week of May 6-12 National Nurses Week. Ending on May 12, National Nurses Week gives a special nod to Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, on her birthday.