A Week of Celebration

With May 6 marking National Nurses Day and May 12 marking International Nurses Day, this month has seen a groundswell of support from Hadassah for nurses -- at the Hadassah Medical Organization in Israel, the Hadassah National Nurses & Allied Health Professionals Council, and among membership across the country.

On May 6, the first day of National Nurses Week, we asked our Hadassah family on Facebook to share support for nurses -- and we saw a groundswell of support. More than a thousand people liked, loved, shared and commented on our post, including many who posted praise for -- and pictures of -- the nurses in their lives today. Among these are several members of the Nurses Council involved in COVID-19 efforts in the United States.

"I couldn't be prouder of our nurses – nurses in the United States and those at Hadassah's hospitals in Israel," says Hadassah National President Rhoda Smolow. "Our everyday reality has been transformed by COVID-19. Yet even as our nurses navigate the same challenges we all face in our personal lives, their commitment to healing our world -- a hallmark of Hadassah -- is unwavering. Thank you, on behalf of all of us at Hadassah. You have our never-ending gratitude!"

“Thank you to all the workers on the front lines for keeping our hospitals running. It is truly an act of selflessness to meet the world’s problems head on and to keep everyone safe. Your bravery does not go unnoticed! Today, the world celebrates you, your service, and your labors of love. You are outstanding human beings,” writes retired nurse Susan Lafer, chair of the Hadassah National Nurses & Allied Health Professionals Council, in a tribute to nurses everywhere. “And thank you, dedicated, hard-working nurses around the world for always keeping your patients as your top priority. Every day you make the world a better place.”

A Powerful Part of Hadassah’s History

“As an organization, our first act of practical Zionism was to raise the funds to send nurses Rose Landy and Rachel Kaplan to Palestine to assess the public healthcare needs,” writes Nancy Falchuk, past Hadassah National President who co-founded the Hadassah National Center for Nurses Councils, the first and still the only national professional organization for Jewish nurses, now known as the Hadassah National Nurses & Allied Health Professionals Council.

“With historic respect and appreciation for the profession, generations of Hadassah leaders fulfilled its organizational mission to address the healthcare needs of the people, all the people, of what would one day become the State of Israel. Hadassah pioneered public health and nursing in the Middle East and later established the very first academic School of Nursing in the country,” she writes.

Year of the Nurse and Midwife

The World Health Organization named 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. Well before the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Council of Nurses had chosen their 2020 theme, “Nursing the World to Health," acknowledging nurses’ true value to the world. “Given the COVID-19 crisis we are coping with,” says Susan Lafer, “the theme is quite prophetic.”

Read more about Hadassah Nurses:

Nancy Falchuk’s look at Hadassah’s major contributions to nursing, "Celebrating Our Inspiring History."
Susan Lafer’s "Tribute to the World’s Nurses on International Nurses Day." everywhere.
Six Hadassah Nurses to Watch.