Be One of Our ‘Friends of Nursing’
If you or your loved one has ever been a patient in a hospital, you know how important nurses are to receiving quality care. That’s why we’re committed to attracting and retaining the best nurses. Our commitment to nursing excellence earned us Magnet designation for the second time. This is the nation’s highest level of recognition for nursing excellence and is a “seal of approval” for quality care. Only 4 percent of hospitals in the nation hold this honor, and we are the only Magnet hospital in the Lehigh Valley.
Our Friends of Nursing program is one way we attract and retain nurses. The program is a philanthropic venture which began more than 20 years ago with the hospital’s first-ever nursing donation – $100,000 from Richard and the late Peggy Fleming of Zionsville, Pa. Since then, support has come from grateful patients and their families, community members, hospital management, and other generous individuals and companies.
How your donations make a difference
Monies raised through Friends of Nursing help in four ways:
Funding
Friends of Nursing provides stipends for research activities and funding for staff presentations of their research at national conferences. Funds also support staff members who participate in medical mission trips to third-world countries.
Support
Magnet nurses always are looking at ways to enhance patient outcomes, and develop nursing recruitment and retention strategies. Thankfully because of the Friends of Nursing program, these special nursing projects can be supported. Recent examples include a complementary therapy program for patients with cancer and a summer nursing camp for high school students considering a nursing career.
Legislative activities
Two staff nurses annually receive Friends of Nursing scholarships and stipends to attend the annual Nurse in Washington Internship. Additionally, funds are used to support, reward and recognize our nursing staff’s involvement in legislative activities such as the coordination of voter registration drives, debates among candidates and letter-writing campaigns related to health care issues.
Awards
Every year during Nurses Week in May, we honor our extraordinary clinicians with the Friends of Nursing Celebration. The night includes the presentation of more than 40 awards which are either cash or honoraria for continuing education. Reward and recognition events such as this go a long way toward keeping a positive workplace morale and a happy, productive staff.
This page last updated 12/13/08 10:47 PM
