Augusta Health’s first bubble walk applauds nurses and promotes wellness

STAUNTON, Va. (WHSV) - National Nurses Week acknowledges the contributions and sacrifices of these professionals who keep people healthy. Augusta Health wanted its premier bubble walk in Staunton to shed light on the fact that its nurses do whatever it takes to get the job done.

“They don’t just take care of patients at the bedside, but they take care of patients in our clinics in our offices in our home health and hospice agency, which are in people’s homes. The nurses are able to make a difference no matter where the patient lives or however they come into the system,” Augusta Health’s Chief Nursing Officer Crystal Farmer said.

The celebration reminds the public to thank nurses but Augusta Health CNO Farmer wants the nurses to thank themselves —especially since balancing mental health is a present struggle in the industry.

The work a nurse does not only affects a patient’s life but also impacts the first responders they interact with.

“Nurses were instrumental in teaching me how to do IVs administer medication’s assess patients on the hospital level. They were wonderful teachers for me and I don’t know what I would’ve done without them,” Firefighter-Paramedic Ray Owen said.

Augusta Health staff said being a nurse is a 24-7 lifestyle as well as an intense job. Organizers of the walk want to change the game of nurses week with something that lets them know for sure that nurses rock.

One goal of the event is to kick off National Nurses Week right by giving people in this intense field the props they deserve.

“I want to take time to really think Jackie she was very really pivotal in my nursing career. She was one of my clinical instructors, and she has always been a great mentor and a great resource. It’s been great to be working collaboratively with her as we look at the wellness of our nursing in, and really embrace how wellness is a lifestyle in nursing as a lifestyle,” Augusta Health Director of Professional Practice & Education Nina Carter said.

The bubble walk was also an opportunity to raise money for the Nurses Excellence Fund.

“We use that fund to purchase things for our patients, or to provide extra care for our nurses or allow them to go to professional conferences.”

Organizers say the first bubble walk was a success and they want to make this an event every year.