February 15, 2021 - Today St. James Hospital launched a program to recognize inpatients who are actively serving or who have served in the U.S. military.
Each patient who is admitted to St. James Hospital is asked
if he or she has served in the military, and if they want to be acknowledged
during their stay. For those who
consent, staff insert a card outside of the patient’s room and place an
American flag in the room. This alerts
staff of the patient’s military service and the opportunity to acknowledge
it. The patient is encouraged to take
the flag home.
“We are honored to formally show appreciation to patients
who have served our country,” said Bryan O’Donovan, president and CEO and U.S.
Army veteran. “This is one small way
that we can thank them for their service, and as safety restrictions allow, our
leadership team will also visit military and non-military patients in their
rooms.”
“We feel that these patients deserve to be recognized for
their service,” said Melissa Rackmil, chief nursing officer, “and after several
months of planning we’re happy to get it started.”
“We hope that this gesture genuinely demonstrates our
appreciation for patients who have served in the military,” said Jason Bisker,
inpatient nurse manager.
