Salt Lake City, UT -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/14/2020 --Nurses are everyday heroes. Nurses are on the frontlines of COVID-19 and are central to the continuously evolving medical practices keeping our hospitals and society safe. As this pandemic continues to impact communities around the world, local nurses have shown resilience, given exceptional care, and advocated for patient safety and wellbeing.

"In this challenging time, our nurses have not only risen to the occasion, they have exceeded expectations," said Natalie Ashby, Nurse Administrator at Intermountain Dixie Regional Medical Center. "Our nurses have gone above and beyond in caring for all patients during this unprecedented time. Many of our caregivers have been redeployed to other places in the hospital. Their resilience and willingness to care for patients is inspiring."

Many hospital caregivers, especially surgical nurses, have been redeployed to other areas such as intensive care and the emergency room. Dixie Regional nurses have stepped up and shown a willingness to cross-train and work in other departments. Their positive attitudes reflect resiliency and a true compassion for all hospital patients.

"Our nurses understand that we are all in this together," said Ashby. "Nurses are nurses because they want to care for others. As the frontline of the battle against COVID-19, our nurses are providing exceptional care. I couldn't be prouder."

During this pandemic, hospital visitors have been extremely limited. Some hospital patients have not been able to have any visitors. Nurses have become the link between patients and their family and friends. Nurses have had to step in and help find creative ways for their patients to receive social interaction and feel the love and support of their families.

"The creativity of our nurses is exceptional," said Ashby. "I've seen nurses wheel patients down the hall to where they can look out a window and see family members holding signs. Other nurses have helped elderly patients use technology to visit with family and friends. Nurses are making supportive, healing, family connections still happen for their patients even during quarantine and social distancing."

Nurses also continue to advocate for patient safety and wellbeing. Dixie Regional caregivers continuously share ideas on innovative ways to give exceptional care. Nurses recently advocated and spoke up in behalf of non-COVID-19 patients and helped form good care practices for newborns and their mothers during this pandemic.

"We really appreciate our great nurses who put patient safety first during times like this," said Ashby. "Recently one of our nurses noticed a safety issue with the color of the new visitor restriction signs meshing with the color of a specific patient treatment door sign. A simple change in signage color was decided which has ensured greater patient safety - all because a nurse knew to speak-up and make a difference."

Next week is National Nurse Appreciation Week. It's the perfect time to show gratitude to the fantastic nurses who have been working hard in hospitals across the nation and close to home.

"Nurses are heroes," Ashby said. "They deserve sincere appreciation for their continued efforts on the frontlines of COVID-19. They have shown dedication, resilience, and compassion as they continue to offer top-quality care and advocate for patient safety and wellbeing. Thank you to our nurses!"

Intermountain Healthcare is a not-for-profit system of 24 hospitals, 215 clinics, a Medical Group with 2,500 employed physicians and advanced practice clinicians, a health insurance company called SelectHealth, and other health services in Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes and sustainable costs. For more information, see Intermountain Healthcare or the Intermountain Healthcare Blog.