ICU nurses make a real difference

Happy Nurses Week, especially to my fellow nurses in the Intensive Care Unit at Condell Hospital in Libertyville.

The public hears a lot about change these days, and change is good as long as it benefits patients, however, the need for compassion and care is constant and can never change.

The ideals expressed by Florence Nightingale and fictionalized in the Cherry Ames series on the profession of nursing are standards in nursing that are constants. The care given by the nurses in the Intensive Care Unit is constant and makes all the difference in the outcome for their patients and their families.

A great deal of money is being spent in the political arena that will effect change. However, the change that the Intensive Care nurses make is not based on money or fame, but on a genuine principle that life has meaning and is to be nurtured and protected no matter the circumstances.

Bonnie Quirke, R.N.

Libertyville