“Trauma code to the emergency department,” “Code 7 to ICU.” “Rapid response to room 200.”

These are just a few of the codes that whenever called in the hospital give me chills. No matter how many times I hear them, my first thought is to stop and pray for the ill and injured and also say a prayer for the nurses and other health care professionals who will be taking care of them.

On the other hand, when I hear the Brahm’s Lullaby being played throughout the hospital, I smile and think of the miracle that has just been born.

I think of what an awesome experience it must be for the physicians and other health care professionals to have been a part of bringing life into the world.

A hospital is defined in the dictionary as an institution in which sick or injured persons are given medical or surgical treatment.

As a hospital employee, I see it as so much more.

Hospitals are the foundations of the communities that built them and nurture them, and hospitals serve people in every community from all walks of life.

This is National Hospital Week.

The first National Hospital Day was held on Florence Nightingale’s birthday, on May 12, 1921.

National Hospital Day was originally conceived by a Chicago magazine editor as a public health care event that encouraged trust in the city’s hospitals in the wake of the “Spanish flu” outbreak of 1981, which killed more than 600,000 Americans.

The event expanded to an entire week in 1953. Today, every state celebrates National Hospital Week.

I wanted to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the hundreds of hospital employees in our area.

To my co-workers and all hospital employees, I say thank you for playing a part in the miracles you witness every day.

You are all an important part of the family of care, using your talents, your knowledge, experience and skills to help people in need.

Your work and the work of those around you are sources of pride that extend to every corner of our community.

Enjoy your week!

 

Kay Ketchings is the director of marketing at Natchez Regional Medical Center.