COVID-19 Response and Nurses Week 2020

As COVID-19 reaches all corners of America, the nation is recognizing a different kind of hero in a different kind of war: America’s healthcare workers. 

On the frontlines every day, they care for the hundreds of thousands of patients affected by COVID-19, including those in the care of Veteran Affairs (VA).

In addition to our patients, more than 1,500 VA health care workers have been affected by the disease, with nine losing their lives against a virus we are all working against. NOVA nurses are fighting to protect their patients and communities with a dedicated response plan. This Nurses Week we are celebrating our NOVA and VA health care heroes.

VA Initiative for COVID-19

On March 27, the VA released its COVID-19 response plan that will “…protect and care for Veterans, their families, health care providers, and staff…” Described as “an aggressive public health response,” the plan shifts some outpatient care to telehealth and postpones some procedures that have been deemed elective and non-emergent. These measures enable Veterans to receive care through minimal contact health care workers and helps preserve dwindling personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies for more critical uses.

The plan also calls for the creation of two zones in all inpatient units: one dedicated to COVID-19 patient care, and a second for “all other care.” The two-zone approach is designed to help minimize the risk of infection—for both patients and workers—while patients are triaged.

All 135 VA nursing homes, which house more than 42,00 Veterans who are mostly older and have multiple complex health conditions, will now adopt a “No Visitor” stance. This also includes the 24 major spinal cord injury and disorder centers run by the VA. All nursing homes will suspend new admissions and staff will be screened daily and be dedicated to working at Community Living Centers.

Recognizing VA Nurses

These efforts come at a time when health care workers are more vital than ever before, and their safety, in addition to that of patients, is a paramount concern. VA nurses are on the frontlines battling the virus with dwindling resources and working around the clock to keep their VA patients healthy. These heroic efforts make this year’s National Nurses Week (May 6-May 12, ending on Florence Nightingale’s birthday) particularly meaningful.

NOVA is providing the following ideas and resources to help ensure your National Nurses Week celebration is the best it can be.

A NOVA Welcome

What better way to celebrate the work of a VA nurse than by welcoming them to the NOVA community? If your facility allows, set up a table and distribute NOVA membership applications and materials. 

Make it informative by hosting an educational webinar on topics affecting VA Nurses and the Veterans they care for. Encourage potential members to explore NOVA’s website to learn more about NOVA’s online resources, how to join, view other chapters, and more.

Show off your NOVA pride by wearing a NOVA Nurses Week t-shirt and other apparel. Consider raffling off or distributing NOVA swag including pins, tumblers, pens, and bumper stickers.

Acknowledge and recognize VA nurses at your facility who have obtained a VA-approved national certification.

Finally, promote your Nurses Day activities on social media. If you do not already have one,
consider creating a Facebook page or event for your chapter. 

Show Your VA Nurse Pride

Log into your favorite social media platform and follow the instructions below:

Facebook

· Share posts from the NOVA Facebook page directly with your friends and family
  or make posts of your own. “Like” the NOVA page to talk and interact with other
  VA nurses by sharing, liking, and commenting on posts related to National
  Nurses Week.
· Share the page with other colleagues or industry professionals who currently do
  not “like” the NOVA page. You can share the page by clicking the “Invite Friends”
  link in the community column to the right. 

Twitter

· Share and/or create tweets that direct others to the NOVA Twitter page and
  NOVA’s official website. A tweet is limited to 280 characters (including links), so
  omit punctuation and abbreviate words when needed. Use Bitly.com to shorten
  links to save space.

· Include the NOVA handle (@NOVANurses) in your posts; doing so will help drive
  other Twitter users to visit and follow the page.

· Don’t forget to hashtag! Use #NursesWeek and/or #NOVANurse in your posts.
  Hashtags are words or phrases that can be tracked by clicking on them. You can
  also use these hashtags on other social media platforms as well.

Instagram

On Instagram share high quality digital photos related to NOVA and Nurses Week with your professional network.

· Take pictures within the app or use photos that already exist in your camera
   roll showing off your NOVA swag.

· Save photos posted by @NOVANurses to your smartphone, then share with
  our Instagram followers

· Connect your Instagram account to your personal Facebook account for
  increased exposure and engagement.

· Instagram prevents links in captions or comments from being clickable, so
  avoid using them.

· Use handles (@NOVANurses) in your posts to help drive other Instagram users to visit
  and follow the page.

· A don’t forget to use relevant hashtags!

LinkedIn

· Share posts from NOVA’s LinkedIn page directly with your connections on
  LinkedIn or create posts of your own.

· “Follow” NOVA’s page on LinkedIn and interact with others by sharing, liking, and
   commenting on posts related to National Nurses Week 2020.

Sample Social Media Posts

If you’re not a social media maverick, use the following sample social media posts to get your National Nurses Week celebration going. And, since people are more likely to look at and engage with a post with a photo, snap a photo and share it with your post! 

·         I'm proud to be a VA Nurse! #NursesWeek #NOVANurse

·         VA Nurses care for America's Heroes! #NursesWeek #NOVANurse

·         NOVA is proud to be the Voice of the VA Nurse! #NursesWeek #NOVANurse

Celebrate with NOVA

Share any articles, updates and pictures with captions that highlight the great work you do on behalf of Veterans every day. These can include local community activities with Veterans, health care initiatives at your facility, awards, chapter events, or anything else that would be appropriate for social media. Your story may be shared on social media and in the NOVA News e-newsletter. 

Click here to share your story!