LSU Health New Orleans Salutes its Nurses

May 6 is National Nurses Day, and it kicks off National Nursing Week, which ends May 12 --Florence Nightingale’s birthday. It is a time to honor our nurses and appreciate their important role in our lives, in their patients’ health and in our health care system.

2020 was declared the Year of the Nurse, and 2020 has brought new emphasis to the importance of the profession. The COVID-19 pandemic shines a spotlight on just how significant the contributions of nurses are. They are the members of the health care team who are supporting their patients with COVID-19 whose families cannot be with them. Even through the barrier of PPE, the impact and value of their compassionate touch and the comforting care nurses are giving their patients cannot be overstated.

Nanette Morales, DNP, NP-C, DipACLM, Instructor of Clinical Nursing at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing, says, “I am faculty in the School of Nursing Nurse Practitioner programs. I am also a Family Nurse Practitioner. I chose this profession at the age of 10 years old because I know what it felt like to be scared and hurting in a hospital bed. I wanted to be the person that made the medical world less traumatic than it needed to be for those who were sick. COVID-19 did not change my motivation or courage. It only helped to solidify why I chose to be a nurse. I love what I do even after 20 + years. It’s not a perfect world and not everyone can be saved, but I can offer a smile and a warm hand to hold. I can help someone transition from being sick to well or simply be present and engaged though there is nothing I can do medically speaking.”

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LSU Health New Orleans nurses are also volunteering in the community to provide an extremely important service – COVID-19 testing in neighborhoods where it’s most needed. The joint effort of LSU Health New Orleans, LCMC Health and the New Orleans Health Department has brought testing to underserved areas throughout the city for weeks now. One who has been on the front lines of testing is Harlee Kutzen, MN, PHCNS-BC, APRN, ACRN, an Instructor of Nursing and also a Doctor of Nursing student at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing.

“I remain grateful for the opportunity to participate in providing and promoting this convenience, painless, readily available, and free covid-19 screening within our community,” Kutzen says. “New Orleans desperately needs this information before specific considerations of loosening our shelter in place orders are lifted. Prior to this endeavor, the COVID-19 testing available was specifically restricted to those individuals who were symptomatic to very specific testing criteria (flu negative, persistent fevers over 100 degrees and respiratory distress) and were in possession of a medical provider referral for testing. This left the majority of both exposed or differently symptomatic individuals without a means to know their status and ultimate risk for potentially spreading the virus unknowingly. So, for me personally, as a registered nurse for more than 38 years, and a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Public Health, I hold a personal and professional interest in both public health and individual safety for household and community spread. Personal knowledge of one’s covid-19 status remains key to our community staying as healthy as possible while reducing the spread of this highly contagious virus.

Going into the last day of testing at Comiskey Park in Mid-City, more than 2,500 people have been tested.

“The individuals who sought testing were patient and appreciative for this opportunity,” notes Kutzen. “This has been a completely positive experience in addition to meeting a critical service gap in our community. I was proud to be a part of it in every way and continue to refer and recommend community members to take advantage of this service while it remains available.”

Dr. J. Christian Winters, LSU Health New Orleans Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs and CEO of LSU Healthcare Network who has been recruiting and scheduling the volunteers to collect samples says, “I wanted to thank each and every one of you for making this community project a tremendous success. Your willingness to serve as well as your graceful interaction with our community has been noted by many. Thank you for your enthusiasm and professionalism.”

LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing is the only nursing school in Louisiana within an academic health sciences center, and its students participate in interprofessional education, along with students in the health care disciplines that will make up health care teams in professional practice. LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing is ranked the #8 nursing school in the U.S. and #3 among public nursing schools nationally. Nursing Schools Almanac collected data on more than 3,000 nursing schools and campuses nationwide, and only 3% made its list of the 100 best nursing schools in the nation.

LSU Health New Orleans School is also recognized as a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League for Nursing and a Stellar School by the National Student Nurses Association.

“These national rankings reflect the dedication of our faculty and students and showcase our nursing school’s unique contribution to preparing successful graduates from a wide breadth and depth of academic nursing programs,” notes Demetrius Porche, DNS, PhD, FACHE, FAANP, FAAN, LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing Dean and Professor. “Our school is developing nursing science, translating evidence and research into practice, and producing a nursing workforce to meet the dynamic health care environment needs. Partnerships with our clinical affiliates ensure an adequate nursing workforce and bridge the chasm between nursing education and nursing practice.”

“We salute our nursing faculty and students on this National Nurses Day and every day for the wonderful work they do,” says Larry Hollier, MD, Chancellor of LSU Health New Orleans. “They are the members of the health care team who can cry with a patient, ease a family’s grief, and be their rock in the most frightening and desperate time of their lives. No members of the health professions have contributed more during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are proud of our School of Nursing and all those who have chosen to serve as nurses.”