Celebrating Our Nurses

It’s National Nurses Week and I not only want to take the time to thank you for all that you do, but also tell you and everyone else what you truly mean to us at Kaiser Permanente.

You are not only leaders, clinicians, researchers, innovators, and scientists, you are also heroes – heroes with courage, compassion, the ability to perform under pressure and provide the ultimate calling; true compassionate care.

Kaiser Permanente is honored to have you, and you mean so much to our organization and to our members. You help us all tell stories. I still recall, at my most vulnerable moment, when I was lying in a hospital bed, the touch of my nurse’s hand on my hand. Without needing to say another word, my nurse gave me comfort, confidence and belief that I was going to recover, and everything was going to be all right.

My story is no different from others who have had similar experiences. We receive letters from thousands of our members who write to tell the story of how you made them feel better, how you gave them hope, how you calmed their fears and how you just cared for them.

At Kaiser Permanente, you are 59,000 strong, and I am proud you are part of the Kaiser Permanente family. Your voices and your presence inside the walls of Kaiser Permanente will never go unnoticed and the value you bring to us will never be understated.

I want to thank each one of you for living our mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve, and importantly, giving us the honor of being in our lives and part of the Kaiser Permanente family.

So, in the week in which the nation recognizes you, I want to express gratitude, and let you know all of us at Kaiser Permanente celebrate you, always. Thank you.