Posted: 2/12/2018
More than 3,000 cards expected to be distributed during fourth annual event
In the days before social media, texting and cell phones, every February youngsters anxiously dragged their parents to the corner store to pick out the perfect package of Valentine’s to pass out to classmates. After the school party, they’d carefully open their cache of tiny white envelopes and beam at the array of cards sporting super heroes and colorful cartoon characters. Nurses at Parkland Health & Hospital System hope to replicate that feeling and put smiles on countless faces by delivering Valentine’s to every patient throughout the system from Feb. 10-14. It’s the fourth year Parkland nurses have spread the love on Valentine’s Day.
The theme of this year’s event is “Parkland Cares for You” and nurses plan to deliver more than 3,000 signed Valentine’s to hospitalized patients and those in Parkland’s network of community-based health centers. Signing the cards, they say, is a labor of love that shows the nurses’ compassion and care for their patients.
“Our support goes beyond what people traditionally think of as medical care and includes the emotional needs of our patients as well. We want to take their minds off their injuries and illnesses, if even for a moment,” said Karen Watts, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Parkland’s Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer. “This is just a way to hopefully put a smile on their face.”
Parkland’s Professional Excellence in Nursing (PEN) Council sponsors the project and set about providing English- and Spanish-language Valentine’s for their colleagues to personalize for their patients. Parkland’s leadership also took part in sharing their heart by signing cards.
Growing up in India, Mercy Alexander, RN, BSN, said she didn’t have the privilege of celebrating the Valentine’s experience. It wasn’t until she came to the U.S. that she fully embraced the tradition. “It isn’t their choice to be in the hospital on Valentine’s. Many of our patients have no family or their family is out of town,” she said. “Giving Valentine’s cards to our patients is a great Parkland initiative and makes perfect sense as patients are the heart of the hospital, and love and care is the core of patient care.”
The manager of Parkland’s Bed Access Management department, Alexander added, “The smile on the faces of people receiving the Valentine’s purely delights our soul and refreshes our spirit. Nothing can surpass that feeling. That is special.”
Ami Bhatt, RN, in Parkland’s Insulin Acute Care Unit, agreed. “What a great opportunity to add some happiness to our patient’s day,” Bhatt said. “The best part is seeing the smiles on their faces. Such a small gesture can add so much joy.”
Bhatt said in previous years patients were surprised to receive an unexpected Valentine. “Most, if not all, were happy and ecstatic from a simple gesture,” she said.
For Medical Assistant Stevilyn Gomez at Parkland’s Irving Health Center, this will be the second year she’s participated in distributing Valentine’s to clinic patients. “They were smiling and thanking me, and it made them feel like someone cares,” she said. Remembering her days in grade school when she “picked out Valentine’s cards and added candy” for her classmates, she said, “It just makes everyone happy.”
For more information about services available at Parkland, please visit www.parklandhospital.com