This year, the World Health Organization christened 2020 as the year of “The International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.” And rightfully so with an astounding 20.7 million registered nurses and midwives in just the U.S. alone.
In this time of COVID-19, the world has celebrated the work ethic and principles of millions of healthcare workers originally set out by trailblazing men and women. Now more than ever, communities have proudly stood by and shown their support, whether it’s clapping at the “quarantine hour,” sounding sirens or drawing empowering chalk messages.
But the field didn’t get there by itself. Rather, it was fiercely led by the “the Lady with the Lamp” – Florence Nightingale – who revolutionized nursing and developed greater sanitation practices in hospitals. On the eve of her 200th birthday, Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) demonstrated its own token of appreciation for Florence Nightingale, and nurses and midwives everywhere, by giving a juvenile loggerhead the name “Nightingale.”
On May 11, 2020, this honorary sea turtle patient was taken in after being stranded at Jensen Beach, FL. Upon “Nightingale’s” arrival, it was clear that the sea turtle was affected by chronic debilitation and anemia. Additionally, the patient was placed in freshwater for 24 hours to remove the barnacles and leeches on the shell. The turtle is currently placed on parenteral nutrition, to help speed its recovery, as well as antibiotics and fluids.
While the two forms of treatment fall into different corners, LMC recognizes the heart of healthcare. And from the Center’s outdoor sea turtle hospital, we salute our frontline heroes in scrubs! In the form of a sea turtle, thank you to all the dedicated nursing professionals who are living out what Florence Nightingale set forth centuries ago.
