The nursing staff at Sycamore Shoals Hospital were recognized for their hard work and dedication and were presented with a proclamation declaring this week National Nurses Week in Elizabethton.

National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6-12 and is sponsored by the American Nurses Association. The National Nurses Week 2015 theme is “Ethical Practice. Quality Care.” and recognizes the importance of ethics in nursing and acknowledges the strong commitment, compassion and care nurses display in their practice and profession.

Elizabethton Mayor Curt Alexander presented the proclamation to the SSH nursing staff during a brief ceremony Monday morning.

“I ask all citizens of the city of Elizabethton to join me in honoring the registered nurses who care for all of us, and further that the residents of the city celebrate registered nursing’s accomplishments and efforts to improve our health care system and show our appreciation at every opportunity through the year.”

Registered Nurse and Quality Director for the Southeast Market Cindy Verzi accepted the honor on behalf of all the nurses at Sycamore Shoals. Sycamore Shoals Hospital currently employes 150 members in its nursing staff. “Nurses week gives us a time to pause and recognize the work that happens everyday,” Verzi said. “Nursing is a 365, 24/7-type of job. It is a calling, and a duty, for the nurses. They give up a lot of time with their families. They work holidays, nights and weekends to provide the best level of patient care that they can. It means a lot to be recognized like this.”

According to the ANA website, National Nurses Week was first observed in 1954, the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s mission to Crimea. Nightingale is regarded as the mother of modern nursing. She and a team of nurses worked to improve conditions in treatment of soldiers during the Crimean War and later founded the St. Thomas’ Hospital and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses. She died August 13, 1910.

The week always ends on May 12, which is Nightingale’s birthday. President Richard Nixon was the first president to declare an observance on National Nurses Week in 1974.