Lemoore, Calif. -- National Nurses Week is an annual event where we recognize and honor the contributions of nurses within Naval Health Clinic Lemoore (NHCL) and around the world. Nurses week began May 6 and runs through May 12, which is is Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Nightingale is known for establishing the world’s first nursing school on July 9,1860.

Today, May 6, the clinic kicked off Nurses Week with the Blessing of the Hands. This small ceremony is a non-denominational ritual where a chaplain or spiritual leader blesses or anoints the hands of each nurse. This year, the chaplain from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17, Lt. Kurt Hagestuen walked around the clinic blessing the hands of participating nurses.

“We were grateful to partner with CVW-17’s chaplain to bless the hands of our clinic nurses,” said Capt. Vavadee Belko, chief nursing officer at Naval Health Clinic Lemoore. “It is always nice to pause a moment to reflect and honor the compassion and dedication nurses can provide from something as simple as a caring touch.”

The NHCL Nurses Association planned many fun, restorative and recognition activities to celebrate the clinic’s nurses. Thursday, May 9, the DAISY nurses award will be announced and Friday, May 10 will conclude clinic activities with a cake cutting for the Navy Nurse Corps’ 116th birthday.

Nurses make a difference! Let us celebrate our nurses – the unsung heroes who touch lives with their hands and hearts.

Naval Health Clinic Lemoore, co-located with Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Lemoore, ensures the readiness of its active-duty service members and improves the lives of military families through the delivery of high-quality healthcare to over 18,000 eligible beneficiaries at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California and NAS Fallon, Nevada. The command also provides dental care and medical administrative support to Navy, Marine Corps, and international students at the Naval Postgraduate School, Defense Language Institute and the Center for Information Dominance in Monterey, California. The command’s mission is to advance the readiness and health of our warfighters and beneficiaries and invest in our people and partnerships.

Story originally posted on DVIDS: Naval Health Clinic Lemoore kicks off Nurses Week with the Blessing of the Hands