Happy Nurses Week!
A Tribute to Benchmark Human Services and HomePointe HealthCare Nurses
Kim Galaviz RN, BSN, MPM Chief Nursing Officer
In 1994, the American Nurses Association first sponsored and promoted National Nurses Week – a week designated each May to highlight and celebrate the crucial contributions that nurses make to the communities and people they serve.
Nurses Week 2022 begins today and continues through May 12, 2022. This special week of recognition gives us a wonderful opportunity to pay tribute to the critical and unique role that Benchmark Human Services (Benchmark) and HomePointe HealthCare (HomePointe) nurses hold throughout our organization. Our nurses ensure that healthcare needs are met for the individuals and clients we serve — twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
I am coming into my ninth year working for this company, and throughout that time, I have had the privilege of witnessing first-hand what it means to be a Benchmark and HomePointe nurse. Our nurses have a gift and love for working with and alongside the most vulnerable. They have fierce dedication to and compassion for the individuals they serve who become such a big part of their lives. This career choice is not for the faint of heart. For Benchmark nurses it often means taking calls around the clock to help with emergency care or major issues. For HomePointe nurses, who deliver pediatric home nursing care, it means covering an extra shift so that parents can attend a special event or get some much needed rest after their child has been in the hospital. For all of the nurses on our team, working in the human services field means learning and understanding the unique needs of those who cannot always advocate for themselves. It means providing intensive, specialized care to individuals with some of the most complex medical needs. It means always having those entrusted in our care on our minds, as the work we do comes with great responsibility. It means building long-term relationships with those served and their loved ones. It means being an integral part of the team by adding another dimension through specialized training. It means carrying out and safeguarding essential care, training, and follow-up that is imperative to the health of the individuals we serve. Being a nurse with this organization means you give of yourself in this “job” — which is really a calling.
Benchmark and HomePointe nurses – For the last three years, you have worked tirelessly through a global pandemic and staffing shortages, which have created added pressure and stress to an already difficult role. Through it all YOU, our valued nurses, have continued to put our mission front and center, providing the most exceptional care. You make our organization better. I am honored to serve alongside such extraordinary nurses. For all that you do, on behalf of our entire team, thank you, and Happy Nurses Week!