Hugs for Helpers

Covid-19 was a global pandemic that impacted millions of people around the world. Many hospitals were flooded with patients that needed life saving care. At the front lines of these hospitals were the nurses in the ICUs that provided this care. These nurses worked overtime to save lives, monitor cases, and help stop the spread of infections. Even though the public health emergency has ended, nurses continue to be very important in the health of our community. They are heroes and unfortunately don’t always get the self care they need because they are busy taking care of their patients. 

Lincoln TeamMates mentors and mentees came together to show appreciation to these nurses. Nearly 300 pocket hugs were made so that each nurse in the Bryan ICUs could have a token of appreciation. Along with the hugs, matches created notes of encouragement and praise for the work that nurses do.

In December, the pocket hugs were delivered to both Bryan West and Bryan East ICUs, three locations in total. Some of the hugs were very specific about Covid-19 saying “Thank you for saving my life” and “You saved my dad.” These hugs were especially meaningful to the nurses that were on staff during the pandemic, as they remember the hardships the staff and patients endured. 

TeamMates staff, Audrey Watson and Stacey Blizek, received many “how sweet” and “thank you so much” comments from the nurses at the delivery.  It was evident that the hugs that matches made brought smiles to many nurses.