By Cassandra Harris

As National Nurses Week 2015 draws to an end, we celebrate the critical role that South Carolina’s nurses play each and every day in helping to promote and protect the health of our state.

Beginning each year on May 6^th and ending on May 12^th (Florence Nightingale’s birthday), National Nurses Week recognizes the contributions that nurses and nursing make to our community. At DHEC and nationally, public health nurses primary focus is to promote health and prevent disease for entire population groups.

Here at DHEC, our public health nurses ​focus on the health of the populations we serve. They are found in every community across the state, providing nursing care each and every day.  They work with individuals and families that compose the community, provide care to individuals of all ages in a variety of locations and from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, and work in our clinics, in patient’s homes, in schools, in jails and any other location where they can meet the needs of the individual or their family. Their commitment to improving the health within their communities is recognized within the agency and outside the agency.

Thanks to all of our nurses at DHEC, throughout South Carolina and across our nation, for your continued efforts to improve patient outcomes and ensure quality care.