Daily function at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem would not be possible without the amazing nursing staff.
As we celebrate International Nurses Day today, we welcome the chance to share this story of the remarkable bonds that exist within our nursing community, and how they go above and beyond–both for our patients and each other.
Naama Glick, a nurse in our Department of Surgery lost her son—Shmuel Aharon Glick z”l—two years ago in a tragic car accident.
Head Nurse of the Department of Surgey, Annika Schwarz, decided that with the hopes of providing their beloved colleague with some much-needed support, she would develop a special program in Naama’s son’s memory that would also help hundreds of Shaare Zedek patients each week.
“As the senior nurse in the department, I felt it was important to acknowledge this horrific tragedy in a meaningful way that would impact on both Naama and the rest of our team. I recalled how one of our our nurses had a daughter who had chosen to commemorate a recent birthday by distributing gifts to children in the pediatric ward. Out of that idea was born a project whereby children of our staff members would similarly donate gifts to our departments patients in a way that would give meaning for the kids on their birthdays and also help raise the spirits of our patients.”
Anika explains that once the idea was off and running they set up a Gmach (a resource of products available for free use) of personal items that could be used by patients who were hospitalized. Soon the Gmach was filling up with items like shampoos, toothpaste and toothbrushes, slippers, and other things that people often need but don’t have easily accessible in the hospital.
“I really can’t describe how much this idea has meant to us. When Annika told me about the program, and then when I saw the special sign memorializing Shmuel Aharon z”l, I started to cry and realized that the spirit of giving to others that defined his life lives on with the caring that goes on every day here in the department,” she says. “I am so grateful to the staff for this remarkable expression of kindness and for this initiative which has given me strength to go on which is now coming full circle with the blessed birth of our daughter Avishag.”
