Local RNs and LPNs — as well as the entire nursing profession will be honored next month. Local organizations including the Sun, Olympic College, the Olympic College Foundation, and Harrison Hospital will host the first annual Florence Nightingale Lamplighter Awards, singling out the best nurses in Kitsap and Mason counties. Winners in 10 categories will be honored in May during National Nurses Week at a gala dinner at McCormick Woods.

According to Kathy Sanford, Harrison’s vice president of Nursing Services, the effort to honor local nursing professionals and increase visibility of the profession itself is one step in a long line of collaborative ventures with an eye on easing the national nursing shortage. “Nurses improve communities and touch untold numbers of lives every day. They want — and deserve — to be appreciated for this critical role,” noted Sanford.

For more information, call Harrison’s Nursing Administration at (360) 792-6701.