SUNRISE, Fla. (May 6, 2020)—Interim HealthCare Inc., a franchise network of homecare, senior care, home health and hospice and health care staffing services, announced today the launch of “The Year of Us,” a campaign to unify messages of support and gratitude toward the nation’s nurses, including employees of Interim HealthCare and especially those fighting on the front line against COVID-19. 

In times of immense gratitude for nurses nationwide, the campaign celebrates and marks National Nurses Week, May 6-12, 2020. To honor the legacy of Florence Nightingale, Interim HealthCare has also launched a remote learning mini lesson plan for parents and educators to leverage with school-aged children. 

Interim HealthCare believes the indelible influence left by Florence Nightingale is now timelier than ever as she envisioned the future of healthcare being at home. A trailblazer in the nursing profession, Florence Nightingale’s work set the standards for modern nursing by campaigning for better public health practices, including innovative hygiene, safety and social distancing techniques. She believed in leveraging data and statistics to advocate and advance the science of nursing and helped promote the importance of supplies and what would later include items considered personal protective equipment (PPE). In 1870, Florence Nightingale was quoted saying, “It will take 150 years for the world to see the kind of nursing I envision.”—and here we are, living amid a global pandemic where her vision has become reality. 

“As health care’s brightest guiding lights, we celebrate the work of nurses throughout the ages and advocate for their profession and their safety on the job,” said Jennifer Sheets, Interim HealthCare Inc. president and CEO. “When patients look into the eyes of a nurse, they often seek comfort, a spark of hope. It is in those exchanges, the hands held and the tears shed, that bring them back to their jobs every day. As a nurse, I know what it is like to have these moments, and they are my motivation to do the best for the healthcare industry to this very day.”

To celebrate the launch of “The Year of Us,” Interim HealthCare is asking nurses, “What’s your #FloMent?”—the defining moment in a nursing career inspired by Florence Nightingale, a time when their career embodied the character, convictions and vision that made Florence Nightingale extraordinary. Nurses across the health care system are invited to define a moment in their nursing career that was inspired by Florence Nightingale—a time when they were empowered as a nurse, or felt that drive to make a real difference in health care using the social media hashtag #FloMent. 

Among the many interactive activities planned for the week, nurses may also enter win multiple “The Year of Us” 2020 Nurses Week prizes including a care package with Hand & Stone gift cards for future spa treatments, sweet treats from Nothing Bundt Cakes as well as gear fit for nurses such as industry leading foot wear, a professional nursing bag and other equipment. Please visit 2020ihcnursesweek.com to enter. 
 
For parents and educators in need of engaging lessons for students (especially for those teaching remote learners), the team at Interim HealthCare developed a mini-lesson plan on the life, work and impact of Florence Nightingale. Her story, particularly relevant for those interested in science, math, and health care and for those who want to learn more about role model female leaders, is excellent content to integrate in this week or next week’s learning modules. Easy-to-do and manage-at-home activities include a short biography and video of Florence Nightingale, a discussion guide, ideas for scavenger hunts, games, coloring pages, and more. Materials will be available on the Interim HealthCare Nurses Week website.
 
For more information on Interim HealthCare’s celebration of Nurses Week, please visit 2020ihcnursesweek.com.