In recognition of National Nurses Month, Reading Hospital Foundation highlighted nurses through a social media fundraising campaign titled ‘Behind the Mask.’
To recognize the extraordinary work they do each day, the campaign highlighted nurses on the Reading Hospital facebook and Instagram pages with side-by-side images. The first photo depicts nurses in personal protective equipment and the second showed the nurses outside of work with a brief description as to why they chose to enter the nursing profession.
The campaign raised funds to benefit Reading Hospital Foundation’s Nursing Excellence Fund. The Nursing Excellence Fund was established to expand learning opportunities for nurses as they play a critical role on the patient care team.
“We appreciate the support of this year’s generous donors including John & Karen Scholl, State Farm Insurance, and the Reading Hospital Medical Staff,” said Katherine Thornton, President, Reading Hospital Foundation.
“To date we’ve raised more than $15,000 to directly support our nurses. These generous donations will ensure members of the nursing team can continue to grow professionally.”
“Nurses were an integral part of the healthcare team and their courage and compassion was instrumental to the care provided over the past year to our COVID-19 patients,” said Rosemary Wurster, DNP, RN, MPH, NEA-BC, CEN, Chief Nursing Officer at Reading Hospital.
“We are so proud of the work they do each day. The Nursing Excellence Fund allows grateful patients the opportunity to show support for the nurses who made an impact on their care. With the funds we are hosting sought after speaker, Jennifer Croneberger, to discuss mental health, burnout, resilience, self-care, disconnect, and loneliness for our nursing team.”
The Nursing Excellence Fund also supports specialty education and certification, national conference participation, intensive leadership training for new nurse leaders, and participation in national programs to enhance the clinical care that nurses provide.