Adventist Health Clear Lake would like to recognize our talented, dedicated nursing colleagues during National Nurses Week, May 6 to 12. Adventist Health Clear Lake truly has a remarkable team of people working together to live our mission to inspire health, wholeness and hope in each interaction with our patients, their families and guests.

From nurses who welcome our newest patients in the Women’s Care Unit, those providing specialized care in our surgery suites, serving those in crisis in the Emergency Department and caring for the young and old on the Med/Surg and ICU Units, we are blessed with an experienced, compassionate team. We greatly value their commitment to patient care and the healing services they provide.

Our nurses understand that their work is more than a job. It is a full-time mission to live out our values of respect, excellence, integrity and compassion. They inspire me with their calling to serve in a setting that is full of challenges and change. The Adventist Health Clear Lake nurses provide hands-on care, but much of what they do is often overlooked or done behind-the-scenes. These women and men are selfless servants, and the letters and notes I receive from grateful patients in thanks for their life-saving work demonstrate they are making a difference.

Please join us in celebrating National Nurses Week by thanking the nurses in our community who have touched your life.

Colleen Assavapisitkul, RN, MSN, HACP, is vice president of patient care at Adventist Health Clear Lake in Clearlake, Calif.