“Nurse! Come Quick!” Edwin Malet
FROM FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE TO COVID-19
“N
URSE! COME QUICK!” THAT CRY CAN BE HEARD
in emergency rooms, in nursing homes or in our own homes where people are hurt, disoriented or suffering. And it’s heard more often now in the time of COVID-19. Nurse practitioner John Waters says hospital staff are “overwhelmed and overworked” even in the best of times. Elaine Scott says “new information every day about COVID demands different approaches.” Often nurses working in hospitals don suits, gloves and masks. As doctors have increasingly become our mentors and guides to health care, nurses have become our front-line against disease and pain. It’s ironic that this year earmarked to be a major celebration—
the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife—should fall on a year of their dire necessity. ONCE THERE WAS FLORENCE Born in 1820, Florence Nightingale is credited with beginning the nursing profession and a major reason the World Health Organization designated 2020 as this special year. Of course, much has changed in the profession over 200 years. For one, the number of nurses has spiked. In 1900, there were just under 11,000 nurses. Today, it’s about 3 million—71,000 in the Philadelphia metropolitan area alone—and the number of nurses is expected to increase at about 12% annually for the next CountyLinesMagazine.com | May 2020 | County Lines
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