Editor’s note: The following is a letter from Crystal Hinson Miller, president of the IU Health Foundation, written to friends of the foundation.
| Dear Friend of IU Health, My colleague Laura Pickett, chief operating officer of IU Health Foundation, personally thanks every nurse she meets. Because we work for IU Health, that’s a lot of nurses. She thanks them wherever she spots them: in the elevator, the parking garage, the grocery store. She does this because, as she says, nurses are her heroes. She’s right. During the current crisis, the 9,000 nurses at IU Health have demonstrated their superpowers: working longer shifts, transferring to different units to be where they are needed the most, and living apart from their families so they don’t take the virus home. And because visitors aren’t allowed, nurses often stand in for absent loved ones when patients are scared and in pain. Nurses Week starts May 6, the day after #GivingTuesdayNow, the global day of giving and unity on May 5. During this time, we will share nurses’ stories and offer you several ways to say thank you. Based on the response Laura gets when she thanks nurses, they aren’t used to such shows of gratitude. As Laura explained in a LinkedIn post, “The most common responses are happily confused gestures of ‘Oh, well, thank you for saying that.’ or ‘You’re welcome?'” Most nurses would say they are just doing their jobs. But we know better. They are heroes. I look forward to celebrating them with you next week. Gratefully, Crystal Hinson Miller President, IU Health Foundation |
