06-04-25 Commissioners Issue Proclamation For Nurse Appreciation Week (Photo) -06/04/25
Douglas County Board of Commissioners
Tim Freeman, Tom Kress and Chris Boice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2025
Commissioners Issue Proclamation for Nurse Appreciation Week
(Douglas County, Ore.) The Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Tim Freeman, Tom Kress, and Chris Boice issued a proclamation today at the Weekly Business Meeting calling upon all citizens of Douglas County to observe June 1-8, 2025 as "Nurse Appreciation Week" in Douglas County. The proclamation was presented by Commissioner Boice, on behalf of the Board and acknowledged that, “Nursing is not merely a vocation, but a calling to selflessly serve others by providing quality, compassionate and critical healthcare to patients during routine medical visits, long-term care situations, surgeries, emergencies and in times of great uncertainty.” A copy of the live video presentation can be found on the Douglas County Government Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DouglasCountyeGovernment.
“Wow what a great crowd we have here. Today is an important day for us, we get to do our Nurses Appreciation Week proclamation. I want to thank you all for the work you do. You get to deal with the public when they are having some of their worst days – when they are sick, hurt or injured – your compassion and your ability to be there to help is incredible. I am always grateful we have you in our community,” stated Commissioner Freeman.
This week the Commissioners celebrated the men and women of Douglas County that have chosen to serve others in the nursing profession. It has been said that few professionals are admired as much as nurses. Nursing originated from the early practice of caring for the sick and injured, a role often performed by women within their families or communities. As societies developed, religious orders stepped in to play a significant role in providing care for the sick and injured, with nuns and monks often taking on nursing roles. The modern nursing profession gained prominence in the 18th and 19th centuries with the rise of formal nursing education and the contributions of figures like Florence Nightingale, who standardized practices and emphasized the importance of a clean environment. Professionally trained nurses hold a unique place in the American health care system. As members of the largest health care profession, the nation’s nurses work in diverse settings and fields and are frontline providers of health care services. While most nurses work in acute-care settings such as hospitals, nurses’ expertise and skills extend well beyond hospital walls. Millions of Americans turn to nurses for delivery of primary health care services, health care education. and health advice and counseling. Nursing continues to be an indispensable service, and nurses are the critical link in maintaining our entire health care system.
“I am excited to have you all here today; my middle son will be starting his fourth year at George Fox University, and he is studying to be a nurse. He is looking forward to finishing school and coming home to work in our community. I am glad to see that someone mentioned that nursing is a “calling.” When you raise kids, you help them to identify what their future should look like, and with my son it was trying to help him identify his strengths and we all strongly felt that nursing was his calling. The people that work in the nursing profession are top shelf. You deal with people that are not at their best and yet you all express professionalism and empathy for these folks. I admire you and the work you do,” remarked Commissioner Chris Boice.
Commissioner Tom Kress presented Nurse Appreciation Week proclamation certificates to nurses and administrators from CHI Mercy Medical Center, Aviva Health Care, Umpqua Health Alliance, UCAN’s Nurse Home Visiting Program, Umpqua Community College – Nursing Program and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office – Corrections Division. Joining us today were: CHI Mercy: Russell Wooley (CEO), Holly Cook (Chief of Nursing), Natasha Gugel RN, Lindsey Holcomb RN; Aviva: Kylee Freeman RN, Jess Freeman RN, Katie Pantekoek, Natalie Aumock, Essie Lewis, Lauren Moreland, Kristina Hazzard LPN, Destany Alamprese RN; UCAN: Colleen May-Weir (Director), Elise Hansen RN, Ashley Pittam Hays RN, Dusty Smith RN; UCC: Chelsea Gillespie-Towne, Leesa Sterner, Mary Barron, Emma Pearsall, Rose Diou; DSCO – Corrections Division: Sheriff John Hanlin, Undersheriff Brad O’Dell, Lt. Clayton Ruble, Jodi Fassler RN and Tennille Redmond RN.
“I am blessed with many things in my life. But one of the things that is on my top ten list is that not only do I have a daughter that is a nurse, but I have a daughter-in-law that is a nurse too. That is pretty special, and I am thankful for all that you do,” commented Commissioner Kress.
The Commissioners invited a few of the participants to speak about the recognition and their work in nursing:
CHI Mercy Medical Center: Holly Cook, Chief of Nursing
“I just wanted to callout that in your proclamation you stated that nursing is not just a vocation, but more of a calling to serve. I just wanted to say thank you for the recognition on behalf of the nursing profession. Because I would add to that, I see it as a privilege as well. We get to see people and serve people in our communities that are in some of the scariest times and most challenging times, and we get the opportunity to walk that journey with them to wellness.”
Aviva Health – Jess Freeman, RN
“Thank you for recognizing all the hard work we put into our jobs. Coming back to work in the community where I was born and raised has absolutely meant the world to me. Aviva Health has given us so much freedom to explore our passions. I came from a hospital where I worked in orthopedics and now I focus on hepatitis treatment and management and other communicable diseases. Who in the world would have thought that’s where nursing would have brought me, but here I am. Getting to make such a clear difference in my hometown is absolutely incredible. We get to interact with patients in the best ways possible and support them throughout their journey. We do love our jobs, and we love our passion for our patients.”
UCAN Home Nurse Program – Elise Hansen, RN – Program Manager
“For those of you that are not familiar with Public Health Home Nurse Visiting Program, it is a program that Douglas County turned over to UCAN and still generously supports and funds. This is a public health program where we go into homes to see moms, babies and kids with special health care needs. We serve one of the most vulnerable populations in Douglas County. The majority of our families are low income and need a lot of resources. We get to see them in at their most vulnerable. It’s a different kind of nursing and it is not often the type of nursing that gets recognized. So, thank you for that.”
Umpqua Community – School of Nursing – Chelsea Gillespie-Towne, MSN, RN
“We have the unique perspective of running the local nursing program. We are all nurses that work in the program, but we also get to grow the next generation of nurses. It is really cool to look around this room and see how many graduates that I recognize from our program. Thank you for recognizing nursing.“
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office – Corrections Division – Jodi Fassler, RN/Health Servies Admin
“Thank you for recognizing nurses. All of us nurses that work in the jail system really appreciate being recognized because we do serve a lot of patients that do not receive regular or any medical care until they get put in jail. We often deal with challenging individuals, and we do our best to help them.”
Douglas County has approximately 1,487 dedicated Nursing professionals as a part of our local workforce, as well as a robust and highly regarded Nursing Education Program at Umpqua Community College. This proclamation is a reminder to our citizens to take the time to thank our nurses, and offer them our sincere gratitude, unyielding support and utmost respect to those whose contribution and sacrifice to our local workforce is paramount in sustaining a healthy community for all to live, work, and play.
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Media Contact: Tamara Howell, Emergency Communications & Community Engagement Specialist, Douglas County Public Affairs Office | Office: (541) 957-4896 | Cell: (541) 670-2804 | Email: tamara.howell@douglascountyor.gov
Proclamation and Photo Collage Attached. Photo Credit: K.Tate/Douglas County. Individual photos available
