National Nurses Week: 1199SEIU hosts Nurse Appreciation Night

Western New York is taking time to celebrate nurses in our community.

This is part of National Nurses Week, which ends on Sunday May 11th. May 11th is Florence Nightingale's birthday. She created the world's first nursing school in England back in 1860.

The healthcare workers union 1199SEIU hosted a special Nurse Appreciation Night at its Main Street headquarters in Buffalo. The event lets nurses socialize with one another and shop from over a dozen local vendors.

The union says this is their way to say "thank you" and celebrate the hard work and dedication of Western New York nurses.

"I don't think people realize how important nurses are to the health of the entire community," nurse practitioner Michele Ambor-Hutz said. "We're the backbone of the healthcare system, we're the ones that focus on health and getting people well and staying out in the community and staying in their homes."

This is the first nurse appreciation night since the COVID-19 pandemic.

If there's a nurse you would like us to spotlight, head over to our WKBW Facebook page and you can post a picture of them that could be used on air or online.