Celebrating Nurses

For the first time locally, West Michigan nurses celebrated their profession together at an event hosted by nearly 20 hospitals, health organizations, and educational institutions.

More than 200 nurses attended the 'Celebrate Nurses Week' dinner on May 8, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids. Keynote speaker will be Cynthia Barnes-Boyd (pictured), director of community health initiatives at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Karen Dunlap, coordinator of continuing nursing education for GVSU's Kirkhof School of Nursing, said the event is part of National Nurses Week, which runs May 6-12. In past years, area hospitals, colleges, and other organizations have held separate events to recognize their own nurses.

The catalyst for the change this year is the West Michigan Nurses Advisory Council, a coalition of nurses that formed in 2000 to address the nursing shortage and other professional matters. The advisory council meets monthly at Grand Valley's Pew Campus and began discussing this event several months ago.