A message from Winona Health President/CEO, Rachelle Schultz… This week, May 7-13, is National Hospital Week as well as National Nurses Day (6th) and Week (May 6-12). As I reflect on celebrating the amazing people who are called to be caregivers, I am humbled by their compassion, care, and dedication to patients and residents. These ladies and gentlemen deserve to be recognized and celebrated. Healthcare workers heed an inner calling to be of service to others. This is their purpose. Their work connects heart, mind, and body in powerful healing ways, often in the most challenging circumstances. Patients have first-hand experience of this, and we all had the opportunity to experience this through the pandemic. But now, as the end of the public health emergency is at hand, we find ourselves in a new healthcare paradigm. We are at a new beginning. Underlying this, however, remains the core tenants of care, compassion and service. I have worked in the healthcare field for nearly 35 years and have felt this to be an extraordinary privilege. The personal focus caregivers put into their care every day is often breathtaking. I have seen directly and know the stories of impact these people make every single day. There is nothing straightforward or easy about being a caregiver. Perhaps many of you know this through your own experiences of caring for a loved one. Caregiving is more than the act of delivering care, its connecting with a patient, understanding who they are, what they hope for, their points of strength and vulnerability, and finding the human connection that we all need. And we learn as much about ourselves as we do others through every encounter. Our work can be exhilarating as well as exhausting. Yet it is always meaningful. Hospitals and the healthcare industry are going through a lot of change (that is really an understatement). We face disruptions on many fronts – workforce, financial, inflation, supply chain, legislation (state and federal), and demographics while at the same time seeing a marked increase in acuity and complexity of patients’ medical, emotional and social needs. These issues are not a local phenomenon but rather national in scope. I have not seen anything like the number and magnitude of these current circumstances ever in my career. They also underscore the importance of local access to compassionate, high quality care, and I am proud that Winona Health’s caregivers are providing just that. The physicians, nurses, associate providers, pharmacists, social workers, technicians, therapists, nursing assistants, and other clinicians, along with all of our support caregivers in environmental services, facilities, food and nutrition, finance and billing, supply chain, medical staff support, human resources, information systems, marketing, administration, and more make up a team of caregivers over 775 strong committed to caring for you. They are a team of extraordinary and talented people who care about you, who are here for you, who are just like you. And it is my honor to work with each and every one. On behalf of the Winona Health Board and the many stakeholders I want to thank everyone at Winona Health as we celebrate National Hospital Week, with a special callout to our Nurses during National Nurses Week, for being you, for choosing healthcare for your profession, for giving of yourself to others, and for understanding we are all in this together. We are Winona.
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