President Donald Trump commemorated nurses on the frontlines of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic by with the first-ever presidential proclamation of May 6, 2020, as National Nurses Day.
“You’ve devoted your lives to help protect the health and well-being of the American people and through these times of uncertainty you’ve shown immense courage and selflessness,” First Lady Melania Trump said in the White House’s YouTube video.
On National Nurses Day, the White House hosted leaders of numerous national nursing organizations, and Trump spoke about retaining the White House Coronavirus Task Force after news reports said he would dismantle the group.
“Every day, nurses provide quality, compassionate, and critical care to patients during both routine medical visits and in times of great vulnerability, fear, and uncertainty,” Trump said. “Over the past weeks and months, as our nurses have worked heroically on the front lines of the coronavirus response, their contributions to the health and well-being of our citizenry have been exponentially magnified.”
National Nurses Day, National Nurses Week, and Oncology Nursing Month are all celebrated each May. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, this year’s recognition is particularly meaningful.